Quetta, Jan 2 (IANS) Two more Baloch civilians were forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces amid a growing wave of enforced disappearances across Balochistan, a leading human rights organisation said on Friday.
Condemning the incidents, Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, mentioned that Hamdan, a native of Dasht in Kech District, was reportedly taken from his residence in Karachi on December 30 by the state intelligence agencies.
The rights body described the act as "a grave violation of fundamental human rights and the rule of law". It also called for the immediate disclosure of Hamdan’s whereabouts and demanded his safe release.
According to Paank, another Baloch civilian, Yasir Nasir, was reportedly detained by Pakistani forces during a late night raid in the early hours of December 31 in the Gowak area of Mand in Kech district.
"Since his arrest, Yasir's whereabouts remain unknown, causing grave concern for his safety and well-being," Paank stated.
Amid the escalating violence in Balochistan by the Pakistani forces, the bodies of four unidentified people were recovered from a deserted area about 22 miles from the Zinda Pir area of Harnai district in the province.
Citing sources in the provincial paramilitary Levies force, the Balochistan Post on Friday reported that residents alerted the authorities after spotting the bodies, following which Levies personnel reached the spot.
According to the officials, the bodies were found in a remote location and have been taken into custody for further action, while the identities of the deceased remain unknown.
Earlier on Thursday, Baloch families once again staged a sit-in protest against the enforced disappearance of four members of the same family in Balochistan's Kech district, blocking a key stretch of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the Tejban region.
According to the human rights organisation Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), the people of Balochistan continue to live under fear, repression, and systematic human rights violations. Four members of the same family, two women, Hani Dilwash, and Hair-Nisa, were forcibly disappeared from Hub Chowki and two men, Fareed Ijaz and Mujahid Dilwash, were forcibly disappeared from Tejaban in Kech by Pakistani forces.
“Despite harsh winter conditions, mothers, sisters, elders, and children remain on the road, refusing to disperse until their loved ones are safely returned,” the BYC stated.
Citing the families, the rights body stated that earlier negotiations were held with the Deputy Commissioner of Kech, who assured the immediate release of the detained women and promised that the men would be produced within 10 days. However, it said, no one has been released, exposing these assurances as empty and further eroding trust.
“We urge national and international human rights organisations, humanitarian bodies, independent media, and people of conscience to take urgent notice of the grave human rights situation in Balochistan. Enforced disappearance is a crime under international law and must not be ignored or normalised,” the BYC noted.
--IANS
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