Feb 13, 2025
By Shoukat Korai
KARACHI
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC)’s Sammi Deen has revealed that 88 cases of enforced disappearances were reported across Balochistan in January 2025, with the Makran Division accounting for 43 of these cases.
These statistics were disclosed during a joint press conference at Karachi Press Club on February 12 by BYC central committee members Sammi Deen Baloch and Lala Wahab Baloch, alongside Dr. Tauseef Ahmed from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. The BYC representatives condemned the normalisation of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan, highlighting the climate of fear these actions have created.
11 cases of missing persons reported in Feb: Sammi Deen
According to Sammi Deen Baloch, the figures compiled by BYC’s Human Rights Department represent only documented cases, with actual numbers likely being higher due to fear, intimidation, and communication challenges in the region. The crisis has continued into February, with 11 additional disappearances reported, including Wasim Malang, Sohail Abdullah, Shahjan Ghulam Muhammad, Abdul Jamil, Haji Habib, Muhammad Iqbal, Abdul Rehman, Asad Baloch Faiz Muhammad, Samiullah Khalil, Rehman, and Arif Pir Bakhsh.
Targeted killings on the rise
Sammi Deen Baloch emphasised that teachers, students, and educated individuals are increasingly falling victim to targeted killings, with many forcibly disappeared persons later found dead. She characterized these killings as extrajudicial executions carried out by death squads, particularly targeting Baloch youth, students, poets, and intellectuals. Recent victims include Allah Dad Baloch, an MPhil scholar killed in Turbat, and Baloch educationist Sharif Zakir.
‘Govt aggravating crisis of enforced disappearances’
Dr. Tauseef Ahmed criticized the state’s growing insensitivity toward enforced disappearances, citing the recent appointment of former Supreme Court judge Faqeer Khokhar as chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances. Khokhar, who was appointed while in intensive care, died five days later. Dr. Ahmed interpreted this appointment as demonstrating the state’s lack of seriousness in addressing the issue. He also noted that Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, following his visit to Turbat and Gwadar, acknowledged receiving numerous complaints about missing persons cases.
Dr. Ahmed further revealed that a bill introduced in the Pakistani Senate under European Union pressure, which would have criminalised enforced disappearances, has mysteriously disappeared itself. He warned that the state’s current policies are alienating citizens and could have severe consequences if not changed.
BWC central leader Lala Wahab Baloch expressed concern about intimidation tactics faced by their organisation despite its peaceful campaign against disappearances. He mentioned an ongoing protest in Turbat Chowk, where families of a deceased missing person are demanding justice, and cautioned against pushing peaceful protesters toward extremism.
The press conference concluded with an urgent call for Pakistan to comply with international conventions in its treatment of citizens, warning that failure to do so could result in a major tragedy.