Pakistan’s abduction policy continues in Balochistan, women and children among 9 kidnapped

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Protest camp of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons in front of the Quetta Press Club, occupied Balochistan. (File Photo: News Intervention)
Protest camp of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons in front of the Quetta Press Club, occupied Balochistan. (File Photo: News Intervention)

Pakistani security forces abducted nine people including two women from Gichk at district Panjgur of occupied Balochistan. These abducted people have been moved to unknown locations and have now joined the long of “missing” Baloch people.

Local Baloch sources told News Intervention that BiBi Maryam, an elderly Gichk resident was travelling with her two young grandsons Rashid and Ajmal to her home when their vehicle was stopped by Pakistani security forces. They were detained and subsequently moved to an unknown location.  

“Both Ajmal and Rashid are students. They live in Kech and were going to their hometown in Gichk to spend holidays with their grandparents when they went kidnapped midway by the Pakistani security forces and are now missing,” said a local Baloch.

In another incident Pakistani forces detained Muhammad Karim and his wife and moved them to an undisclosed location on November 30. Nothing is known about them since the day of their abduction.

Four other people have also gone missing in Gichk over the past few weeks. These men have been identified as Saleem (son of Jumma Khan), Wahid (son on Qadir Baksh), Nazeer (son of Ummayat) and Yar Jan (son of Dil Murad).

Sammi Baloch with the photo of her father Dr Deen Mohammad. Eleven years ago the Pakistani security forces abducted Dr Deen Mohammad from Khudzar, Balochistan. (Representative Photo: News Intervention)
Sammi Baloch with the photo of her father Dr Deen Mohammad. Eleven years ago the Pakistani security forces abducted Dr Deen Mohammad from Khudzar, Balochistan. (Representative Photo: News Intervention)

“The ‘enforced disappearance’ of women is abominable. We will unanimously raise voice against such incidents. The disappearance of an academic from the University of Balochistan during the the past week and now the recent ‘enforced disappearance’ of Baloch woman are proof for everyone,” said Mama Qadeer Baloch, vice chairman of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP).

Mama Qadeer further explained that Pakistani security forces and their intelligence agencies have not only ‘forcefully detained’ Baloch women in the past, but also ‘martyred’ them. “Several women were ‘forcefully detained’ from Awaran and then presented in front of the media with allegations of terrorism,” he said.

Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) is a human rights organization campaigning for the safe recovery of Baloch missing persons. It’s been more than a decade since VBMP began its protest in front of the Quetta Press Club. Mama Qadeer and VBMP continue to brave harassment at the hands of Pakistani agencies. Mama Qadeer, was not allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah and his name was put in the No Fly List to bar him from attending conferences in Geneva and America.

Over the last decade more than 40,000 Baloch have been abducted from Balochistan who now remain “missing”. Pakistan Army’s policy of “enforced disappearance” and “kill & dump” have meant that most of these unarmed Baloch people who get abducted are never released.

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