Baloch activists commemorate eight years of student leader Shabir Baloch's forced disappearance

Shabir was allegedly abducted by the Pakistani Armed Forces on October 4, 2016, from Gowarkop while attending a gathering related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) when the army conducted a raid at the venue. Along with Shabir, 29 others were also taken.

Since then, his wife Zarina and his sister Seema have led an ongoing campaign for his recovery, organising protests in Islamabad, Quetta, Hub Chowki, and Karachi. However, their efforts have yet to elicit any response from Pakistan's courts or human rights bodies, the Balochistan Post reported.

Mahrang Baloch, a Baloch rights activist, posted on X, "Enforced disappearances are a curse on Balochistan. It's not just the victims who suffer, but the thousands of families whose lives are shattered. Shabir Baloch, a student leader, was enforced and disappeared... and his whereabouts remain unknown. His sister, Seema, has been tirelessly fighting for his safe release, raising her two children, Meeras and Shari, on the streets."

She further stated, "Zarina, Shabir's wife, lives in the torment of uncertainty, neither a widow nor a wife. What's more heartbreaking is that she witnessed his abduction, and her mental health has been deeply affected. Once, she told me, 'I always curse the moment they took Shabir in front of me. I wish they had taken me too, so I wouldn't have to endure this endless wait.'"

Sammi Deen Baloch, General Secretary of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), discussed the emotional impact on Shabir's family. Sharing a post on X, she said, "Eight years have passed since the forced disappearance of Shabir Baloch. In these eight years, Shabir Baloch's sister Seema, spouse Zarina, and mother have been demanding his recovery at every protest demonstration in Islamabad, Karachi, and Quetta."

"But instead of alleviating their suffering, the worst violence was inflicted with batons, and arrests were made during peaceful protests. After eight years of suffering, the faces of Shabir Baloch's family seem withered," she added.

A large number of political activists, intellectuals, women and children in Pakistan's Balochistan province are victims of enforced disappearances by the security agencies. Many of them are languishing in detention centres, whereas mutilated bodies of some of these abducted Baloch are found in isolated places.

She further stated, "This suffering has turned into a termite and is eating away at the families of the victims of forced disappearances daily. They have been demanding the recovery of their loved ones from the ever-changing rulers of this state." (ANI)