Quetta, March 25 (IANS) A leading human rights organisation on Wednesday expressed serious concerns over the continued enforced disappearances of Baloch women at the hands of Pakistani forces.

As atrocities against civilians continue to rise in Balochistan, Paank, the Baloch National Movement’s Human Rights Department, mentioned that a 23-year-old student, Mahjabeen Baloch, was abducted by Pakistani forces on May 29, last year.

Her disappearance, it said, soon after her brother Younus Baloch went missing, raises concerns about the targetting of family members and practising collective punishment across Balochistan.

According to the rights body, Younus was later released after severe torture, but Mahjabeen’s whereabouts still remain unknown.

“Enforced disappearances constitute grave violations of international human rights law, denying individuals protection under the law and inflicting ongoing suffering on their families,” Paank stated.

The rights body called on the Pakistani authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mahjabeen and to disclose her fate and whereabouts without any further delay.

Amid the escalating violence across the province, Paank strongly condemned the extrajudicial killing of Muhammad Aamir, a resident of Mastung District.

The rights body called the brutal killing yet another alarming instance of violence in Balochistan committed by the Pakistani authorities.

Citing the victim’s family, Paank stated that personnel of Pakistan’s Frontier Corps (FC) raided their home in the Killi Karez Sor area in Mastung on the eve of Eid, forcibly taking Muhammad outside the house and shooting him dead.

The family further stated that “no arrest warrant was presented, no police report was filed, and no evidence was provided to justify the operation.”

Describing the incident as part of a broader pattern of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the region, Paank said that “such actions constitute grave violations of fundamental human rights, including the right to life, due process, and protection from arbitrary detention.”

“This killing raises serious legal and ethical concerns,” the rights body added, urging immediate transparency and accountability.

Paank further called on the Pakistani authorities to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the incident and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable under the law.

The rights body appealed to international human rights bodies to take urgent notice of the situation in Balochistan, stressing that continued impunity risks further escalation of violence and suffering among civilians.

Reaffirming its commitment to justice, Paank expressed solidarity with the family of Muhammad and all victims of alleged violence in Balochistan by Pakistani forces, while calling for an end to what it described as “systemic abuses” in the region.

–IANS

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