More and more ‘disappearing’ in Balochistan

Baloch activists and the general public are concerned that this trend will likely continue and become intense as time goes on…reports Sanjeev Sharma

 Since the twin attacks on the Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters in Panjgur and Noshki by the proscribed Baloch Liberation Army, “enforced disappearances” in Balochistan have seen a sudden, alarming uptick. The Pakistani forces have reportedly “abducted” 48 individuals from different areas of Balochistan in the past 10 days and the trend is on the rise, the Balochistan Post reported.

According to reports, the Pakistani forces detained four members of a single family in the past week. The forces reportedly raided a house in the Faizabad area of Quetta and “abducted” Saud Sarparra and Sudes.

The forces had raided this house previously on February 7 when they detained Farhad and Saqib. Saqib’s brother Haroon was also abducted on February 6 from Quetta. The forces have so far detained 12 members of Sarparra family from different areas of Balochistan, the report said.

Pakistan rushes more troops to Balochistan as rights movement spreads wings.(Photo:IN)

The Pakistani forces also reportedly detained five individuals during a raid in the Manguchar area of Kalat. The forces reportedly raided several houses during a military operation and detained five individuals. One of the victims was identified as Kifayatullah Langove, a teacher. The remaining four detainees are yet to be identified.

In Lahore, the Pakistani forces reportedly detained three Baloch labourers. They were identified as Farooq Khan, Jamal Khan Balkhani and Muhammad Nawaz Balkhani. The victims were detained on February 7 and remain missing to this day.

In Dera Murad Jamali, the Pakistani forces have detained three individuals and two of them were identified as Bakhtiyar and Sahib. The third victim is yet to be identified.

It is pertinent to mention that since BLA’s attacks in Panjgur and Noshki, the Pakistani forces have “forcibly disappeared” dozens of individuals from different areas of Balochistan, as many as 48 individuals were detained in only ten days. It should be noted that the real number of disappearances over last 10 days is much higher, these are only the cases that have been reported and verified by TBP, the report said.

Baloch activists and the general public are concerned that this trend will likely continue and become intense as time goes on. The Pakistani authorities have not yet commented on these events.

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