Baloch student councils across Pakistan have commenced a week-long boycott of classes to protest the enforced disappearances, racial profiling, and harassment faced by Baloch students, particularly in universities of Punjab province. The student bodies, joined by human rights activists, have initiated a nationwide campaign highlighting the plight of missing Baloch students through press conferences, demonstrations, statements and an online mobilization drive.
The campaign kicked off this week with pamphlet distributions to raise public awareness. In Islamabad on Saturday, hundreds of Baloch students met at a major protest spotlighting the case of Feroz Baloch, a student missing for nearly two years. The demonstration culminated at the Islamabad Press Club.
In Lahore, Baloch students boycotted classes and held a rally on the university campus, supported by peers from other communities. The Baloch Students’ Council Punjab is spearheading protests in major cities demanding an end to enforced disappearances, racial profiling and the safe return of Feroz Baloch and Ahmed Khan Baloch, another missing student.
In the initial phase, Baloch students and female students took to the streets, distributing pamphlets at educational institutions and public places in Punjab. The pamphlets highlighted the daily harassment, racial profiling, and enforced disappearances faced by Baloch students in Islamabad and Punjab.
In the second phase of the campaign, members of the Baloch student councils escalated their efforts by boycotting classes and holding silent rallies across universities in Punjab. This collective action aims to record their protest and amplify their demands for the safe release of Feroz Baloch and other forcibly disappeared Baloch students.
The students have expressed deep concerns over the Pak Army’s harassment they face while pursuing education in Punjab. Several Baloch students have been targeted for enforced disappearance from various educational institutions.
Pakistan has forcefully occupied Balochistan since 1948, exploiting its resources while oppressing its people. The escalating protests by Baloch students have brought the issue of enforced disappearances into the spotlight, where mounting cases of enforced disappearances in Pakistan are being reported every day, week, month and year. Thousands have gone missing over the years by Pak Army, with their dead bodies occasionally resurfacing under mysterious circumstances.