Pakistan: Complete shutter-down, protests take place against enforced disappearances of over 10 Baloch people

Leading Baloch human rights body, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) shared on Sunday that a complete shutter down and sit-ins are taking place in Zehri after over 10 Baloch people from the town in Balochistan were forcibly abducted by the state authorities on Saturday.

In a post on X, BYC called the actions as “State vengeance” against the Baloch people.

“Amplifying Enforced Disappearances and Violence The Security forces and LEAs have been carrying out vengeful actions in Zehri town of Khuzdar. Yesterday, they raided the entire area and forcibly abducted and disappeared several people. The identities of twelve individuals has been confirmed while others remain unknown.”

The post shared the names of the abducted individuals.

As a response to the enforced disappearances, BYC noted that the families of victims and other people blocked the Zehri Cross at Anjira area as well as the main Quetta-Karachi Highway at Surab Cross, in protest and staged sit-ins.

“The Zehri town is observing a complete shutter down and a sit-in in front of the Levies Station. The people have vowed that protests would continue until the safe release of all the abducted individuals”, the post further added.

“Baloch Yakjehti Committee stands in solidarity with the victim families of Zehri and appeals to the people from nearby areas to join the sit-ins. We must stand firm in our resolve against enforced disappearances and the perpetrators”, the post concluded.

Amid the continuous rise in cases of Baloch people facing brutality, barbarity and violence at the hands of Pakistan, leading Baloch human rights activist and organiser of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), Mahrang Baloch gave a call for a national gathering to be held at Dalbandin on January 25 to highlight the plight of Baloch people.

Mahrang Baloch explained that January 25 marks the 2014 discovery of over 100 mutilated bodies in the Tootak region of Balochistan. She said that these remains belonged to Baloch individuals forcibly disappeared by Pakistani military and intelligence agencies.