Quetta, April 20 (IANS) A Baloch family on Monday staged a sit-in protest on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) highway at Sahaki Balgatar in Balochistan’s Kech district following the enforced disappearance of a relative, demanding his immediate and safe recovery.

According to the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), 24-year-old farmer Abidin was forcibly disappeared on Sunday evening on Kilkhor Road in the province by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies. Since his enforced disappearance, it said, the family had received no information about his whereabouts.

“This protest is a call to end enforced disappearances and hold the state accountable for systematic human rights violations in Balochistan and to ensure the safe release of Abidin Baloch,” the BYC stated.

“Enforced disappearances are a recurring and tragic reality in Balochistan, where hundreds of Baloch are disappeared or killed every day. The people of this land must speak up against this injustice or risk complete suppression,” it added.

Expressing grave concern over the continued use of enforced disappearance as a “tool of repression”, the Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) stated that such actions by Pakistani forces violate fundamental human rights and deny families access to justice.

The rights body further called for the immediate release of Abidin and urged international human rights bodies to take notice of the dire situation in Balochistan.

Highlighting the atrocities against civilians across Balochistan, Paank, the Baloch National Movement’s Human Rights Department on Monday revealed that four other individuals, including a minor, were forcibly disappeared on the night of April 19 by Pakistani security forces during a raid conducted at their respective residences in the Panwan area of Gwadar district.

The victims were identified as 19-year-old fisherman Sohail Kareem, 20-year-old student Nadil Baloch, 14-year-old student Dilshad Dad and another young individual, Ali Fazal.

Paank also strongly condemned the enforced disappearance of 27-year-old student Ikram from the Kech district on April 18 by Pakistan’s Frontier Corps (FC).

“The continued targetting of students is deeply alarming and reflects a persistent pattern of human rights violations in Balochistan. Ikram’s whereabouts remain unknown, placing him at serious risk,” it stated.

In a separate incident, a young singer, Muhammad Taj, from the Shapak region in Kech, was abducted from his home by Pakistani security personnel on the night of April 17. Since then, Paank said, his whereabouts remain unknown.

Expressing grave concern, the rights body said, “The targetting of a young artist associated with promoting Balochi language and culture further underscores growing concerns about shrinking space for cultural and artistic expression in the region.”

–IANS

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