“Cannot even express how each day passes for me, my family”: Sammi Deen Baloch on enforced disappearances

Sammi Deen Baloch, a prominent human rights activist from Balochistan, organised a major press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Friday. The conference intended to raise a united voice against the ongoing issue of enforced disappearances in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.

The event commemorated 15 years of the enforced disappearance of another prominent human rights activist and her father, Dr Deen Mohammad, who forcibly disappeared on June 28, 2009, by the Pakistan Army while performing his duty as a doctor in Haurnaach, Khuzdar.

Sammi Deen in her statement given at the press conference stated that she has been struggling to know the whereabouts of her father and has raised her voice on all the platforms possible but still, the administration and the Pakistani defence forces have remained silent on the matter, causing immense suffering for her family.

“I cannot even express how each day passes for me and my family. The issue of enforced disappearances is a mass punishment, that the administration has chosen for the Baloch community. The administration thought that if they abduct the men of our society, the lives of women will be miserable, and we will slowly die both physically and mentally,” said Sammi Deen Baloch.

Sammi further said that she is not hopeless and will continue her struggles against the Pakistani administration.

“But we are still fighting and are not hopeless, as we still have hope for our people. This hope keeps us alive and makes us fight for our loved ones and our rights. My family has spent 15 years, if the administration still wants to keep us away from our loved ones, then we are ready to continue our struggles but we will not lose hope and give up. The rulers have tried all their tactics to force us to give up,” she added.

In her statement, she added that neither the courts nor the authorities have been helpful in her struggle, as they are making no efforts to resolve the matter.

“They have questioned and tortured us for our forcibly disappeared brethren. And now we are fed up with giving them the answers to the same questions time and time again. But I want to clarify one thing: I will fight for my father in any court to get him back,” Sammi Deen Balcoh said.

Additionally, Baloch National Movement (BNM) while raising the same issue, stated in a post on ‘X’, “Enforced disappearance is not just a crime against a single nation, individual, or family; it is a crime against all of humanity. Dr. Deen Muhammad Baloch, the central leader of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), has been forcibly disappeared and in the custody of the Pakistan Army for the past 15 years. He was forcibly taken on June 28, 2009, by the Pakistan Army after being detained while on duty in Haurnaach, Khuzdar District. Bringing Dr. Deen Muhammad home and holding the perpetrators accountable is imperative for justice and humanity.”