Where Is Mahjabeen Baloch? Pakistan's enforced disappearance of polio survivor exposes brutality against Baloch nation

Balochistan [Pakistan], July 1 : It has been one month since Baloch student Mahjabeen Baloch was "forcibly disappeared", yet her location remains unknown and she has not been presented in any legal proceedings, the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) reported on Sunday.

In a statement to the media, VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch said that Mahjabeen was taken away on May 29 by personnel from state agencies at Civil Hospital Quetta. Her family, he noted, informed VBMP that she was detained without a legal warrant and taken to an undisclosed location.

He added that the family had also reported that a week before Mahjabeen's disappearance, her brother Younus Baloch had been detained by security forces at their residence in Basima, with his whereabouts also remaining unknown.

"Neither Mahjabeen nor her brother has been brought before any court so far, which represents a serious violation of human rights," said Nasrullah Baloch. He called on the Balochistan government and federal authorities to take urgent action to guarantee their safe return.

If either sibling is suspected of any crime, he emphasised, they should be presented in court and dealt with legally instead of being held in secret.

Sabiha Baloch, a prominent member of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), also expressed her concerns on social media.

"It has now been exactly one month since Mahjabeen's enforced disappearance. What is remarkable is that no officials in this state have even posed the simple question to the authorities: where is Mahjabeen?" she posted on social media platform X.

She stated that even if Mahjabeen were implicated in any terrorism-related case, she should be in court or prison, not forcibly disappeared. "Enforced disappearances are a form of thuggery and fascism. No legal system in the world condones such injustice. To abduct a 24-year-old girl afflicted by polio from her hostel illustrates the grim reality of how Baloch individuals are compelled to exist under conditions resembling slavery," Sabiha Baloch said.

Sabiha also denounced the state's response to those who speak out. "When we dare to pose these questions, all those in power label us as terrorists and instigators. However, if according to the dictionary of these oppressors, we are labelled as terrorists, what term applies to those who abduct individuals, engage in extortion, trade in narcotics, shoot at unarmed civilians, suppress the media and judiciary, and seize electoral mandates?" she said.

It is important to highlight that both local and international human rights organisations have condemned Mahjabeen's abduction and called for Pakistani authorities to present her in court.

Amnesty International stated that this case embodies a larger trend of enforced disappearances and is "contrary to Pakistan's international human rights obligations." The organisation urged authorities to conduct "prompt, thorough, and effective investigations," to reveal her whereabouts, and to secure her immediate release, as reported by The Balochistan Post.

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