Baloch Unity Committee Condemns State Repression and Enforces Demand for Release of Missing Persons

Quetta: Dr. Maherang Baloch, the central organizer of the Baloch Unity Committee, condemned the ongoing state repression and called for an immediate end to enforced disappearances, urging the release of all missing individuals. She stated that at present, 6,000 individuals remain missing from Balochistan. In a press conference held at the Quetta Press Club with the family of the recently disappeared Ashfaq Ahmed, Dr. Maherang emphasized the urgency of releasing those detained, specifically individuals who were forcibly disappeared from Qalat and other areas.

Dr. Maherang Baloch asserted that if the missing persons were not released, the committee would be forced to block the national highways, placing full responsibility for the situation on the government. She detailed the ongoing issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, revealing that in the past two months, dozens of Baloch youths have been disappeared without legal process and later killed outside the law. She claimed that collecting data on missing persons is challenging, but the current count of missing individuals stands at 6,000.

“Across Pakistan, a movement is rising for the disappeared, and enforced disappearances should be declared unconstitutional,” she stated. She further demanded that if there are any cases against these individuals, they should be presented in court. Dr. Maherang criticized the human rights violations occurring in the province, pointing to the ongoing cycle of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, fake encounters, and the targeting of Baloch people.

She emphasized that Balochistan has been enduring a “Holocaust” for the last seven decades, with the international community turning a blind eye. “The oppression and injustice have made life unbearable for the Baloch, as Balochistan remains a colony under the state, with efforts being made to erase the Baloch people. Due to operations, millions of Baloch are living like refugees, and young detainees are being killed in fake encounters, their bodies discarded,” she added.

Dr. Maherang also pointed out that Baloch lands, resources, and coastal areas have been plundered, while the dignity of women has been violated through arrests and humiliation in public. Political activists, she claimed, are being framed in false cases and placed on the Fourth Schedule, stripping them of their rights. Despite this, she emphasized that the Baloch will continue their resistance, as they have never surrendered to oppression, and these atrocities cannot strip them of their right to resist.

Addressing the recent violence, Dr. Maherang revealed that four detainees were killed in a fake encounter in Mashkay Awaran, and last week, five other individuals who had been forcibly disappeared were killed extrajudicially. Additionally, two youths were murdered in Gomazi, while protests erupted in various regions of Balochistan, including Hub Chouki, Kech, Quetta, Mastung, and Khuzdar. The bodies of the four young men killed in Mashkay were found, and just the night before, Ashfaq Ahmed and dozens of others were forcibly disappeared during an operation in Qalat. She also noted that Ashfaq’s brother, Shehzad Ahmed, was killed three years ago in a fake encounter after being forcibly disappeared.

Dr. Maherang criticized the actions of Sardar Sarfraz Bugti and his government, accusing them of attempting to strip the Baloch people of their right to protest and using threats to forcibly reopen roads. She called the mistreatment of women and the incarceration of activists a shameful act. In conclusion, she reiterated the demand that the state cease the practice of enforced disappearances and release all missing individuals.