|
Amid the ongoing atrocities and enforced disappearances in Balochistan by Pakistani armed forces, six people, including three students, have allegedly been forcibly taken by security forces from Lahore, Punjab, and various areas of Balochistan.
On Wednesday, Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies conducted raids on the hostels of Punjab University and the University of Lahore, reportedly detaining three students and transferring them to unknown locations, as reported by The Balochistan Post. The detainees have been identified as Ikram Mengal, a student from Punjab University; Shamrez Badini, who attends Superior University Lahore; and Deedag Baloch, an economics student at the University of Lahore. While Ikram Mengal has been released, the other two students remain missing. The Baloch Students Council condemned the incident, asserting that these actions were specifically aimed at Baloch students, and called for the safe return of their colleagues. Baloch students have released CCTV footage that allegedly shows armed individuals in police uniforms and civilian clothing participating in the forced disappearances, Balochistan post reported. In a similar incident on October 9, Pakistani forces are said to have detained a man named Muslim, the son of Akhtar Sumalani, in the Korhasak area of Khuzdar district in Balochistan. On October 10, Pakistani security forces and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) conducted a raid on a house in Askani Bazaar, resulting in the forced disappearance of two men, Wafa Manzoor Baloch and Moheem Jan Baloch, The Balochistan post reported. A significant number of political activists, intellectuals, women, and children in Pakistan's Balochistan province are victims of enforced disappearances by security agencies. Many are held in detention centres, while the mutilated bodies of some abducted Baloch individuals are discovered in remote locations. Earlier, Pakistani intelligence agencies, along with military personnel, reportedly detained two Baloch youths--Junaid, son of Abdul Hameed, and Imran, son of Muhammad Iqbal--from the industrial city of Hub Chowki. Notably, enforced disappearances in Balochistan are not isolated incidents; they are part of a broader crackdown on dissent, with Baloch activists accusing military and intelligence agencies of orchestrating these abductions to suppress demands for autonomy, according to Balochistan Post. Balochistan has long been a hotspot for enforced disappearances, a practice in which individuals are secretly detained by state agencies without due process. Human rights organizations have consistently raised concerns about the situation, alleging that thousands of Baloch men, activists, and students have been forcibly disappeared over the years. Despite repeated calls from human rights groups and international organizations, the issue remains unresolved, with the cycle of abductions, recoveries, and extrajudicial killings continuing unabated. (ANI)
|
