June 10, 2026
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
Mehrab Khalid, a student at the National College of Arts, Lahore, who was abducted on May 29, was released on the night of June 9. His friends and fellow students confirmed the news, which comes weeks after he disappeared amid widespread protests by students, lawyers, teachers, and civil society — drawing significant attention on social media. His return has brought immense relief to his family, friends, and the broader student community, who had been campaigning for his recovery.
Speaking with Voicepk by phone, Mehrab’s elder brother Mehraj Khalid confirmed his safe return, adding that the two were now travelling together to their hometown of Turbat. “Mehrab Khalid is safe and accompanying me on the journey to Turbat,” he said.
Sudden disappearance
Mehrab Khalid, a 21-year-old filmmaking student, had gone missing on May 29 from a friend’s house in Anarkali, Lahore. According to classmates and student activists, he was among nine people forcibly taken from the house by unknown people that evening. Most were released shortly after — but Mehrab was not. His family, nearly 1,000 kilometres away in Turbat, had no information about his whereabouts, who had taken him, or why.
“The students and his mates told us he was taken away along with eight others from a friend’s house in Anarkali,” Mehraj had then told Voicepk from Turbat.
Meanwhile, Mehraj is the family’s sole breadwinner, who works as a lecturer at a college in Turbat. He learned of his brother’s disappearance not from authorities, but from fellow Baloch students in Lahore. He subsequently contacted the related Dean in NCA, who assured him the institution would raise the matter with local authorities — even though no further assistance was provided. When Mehrab’s friends attempted to file a First Information Report (FIR) with the local police, their complaint was refused, leaving the family and student groups with no formal legal recourse through the police. The Baloch Students’ Council Punjab, which has been supporting Mehrab’s family, had been exploring the option of filing a habeas corpus petition in the Lahore High Court — a legal remedy used when a person is detained without lawful justification.
Mehrab is one of seven siblings — four brothers and three sisters. His elder brother describes him as having no ties to any banned organisation, and as a young man driven purely by a passion for cinema and storytelling who had left Turbat to study at one of Pakistan’s most respected art institutions.
“My elderly parents and siblings are extremely worried about Mehrab’s abduction and are praying for his safe recovery,” Mehraj had earlier told Voicepk.
Six Baloch students remain missing
Israr Marri, head of the Baloch Students’ Council Punjab, welcomed Mehrab’s safe return and reunion with his family, but noted that at least six students of Baloch descent have remained missing from cities across Punjab. According to the Council, the missing students included Shoaib Baloch, a former student of Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Multan, was abducted in May last year. He is a resident of Nasirabad district, Balochistan. Zubair Baloch, a former student of the University of Bahawalpur, was abducted in April last year. He is from Dera Ghazi Khan district, Punjab.
Dawood Baloch, a former student of BZU, Multan, was abducted in November last year and still untraced. Feroz Baloch, a former student of Arid University, Rawalpindi, has been missing since May 2022. He is a resident of the Askani locality in Turbat, Kech district. Saeed Baloch, a former student of Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, was abducted in July last year. He is from Panjgur. Danial Baloch, a former student of the National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, was abducted in February and remains missing.
Marri said several Baloch students affiliated with the BSC, Punjab, and its Islamabad chapter have been victims of enforced disappearances.
“The families of these students are still deprived of any reliable information about the condition, location, or whereabouts of their loved ones. This situation not only causes severe mental anguish for affected families, but also raises serious questions about basic humanitarian and legal principles,” he said.
Marri reiterated the Council’s demand that all forcibly disappeared Baloch students be accounted for immediately, that their families be provided information about them, and that anyone facing allegations be presented before a court of law in accordance with due process.