Islamabad, Dec 18 (IANS) Various student organisations continued to hold protests at the University of Peshawar against the disappearance of two students, local media reported on Thursday.
The protesters, led by Waziristan Students’ Society, visited several departments of the university and asked students to boycott classes. They also forced shutting down of Madina Market, coffee shop and restaurants on campus, Pakistan's leading daily Dawn reported.
They are demanding immediate recovery of Khubaib Wazir - a student of the third semester at the International Relations Department - and Adnan Wazir - a student of the fifth semester at the Political Science Department. According to the student body, unidentified people took away both students when they were coming back to the campus after participating in the Grand Jirga convened by the provincial government at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on November 12.
On December 12, a leading human rights organisation said that a Baloch student was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces in Balochistan amid an increasing wave of enforced disappearance across the province.
Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, mentioned, Noor Bakhsh, a student and resident of Killi Qambrani, Saryab area in the provincial capital Quetta, was forcibly taken from his home by Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Department on December 7.
Highlighting atrocities in Balochistan, the rights body stated that at least three Baloch civilians, including two students, had fallen victim to enforced disappearance at the hands of CTD from the same region in Quetta.
Paank revealed that on December 6, Aftab Baloch, a student, was abducted by the CTD. Additionally, on December 7, another student, Ibrar Qambrani, and a labourer, Ali Dost Qambrani, were forcibly taken from their respective homes by the CTD.
On December 4, several leading human rights organisations and activists condemned the enforced disappearance of a lecturer, Balach Khan Bali, by Pakistani forces in Balochistan.
Citing local sources, Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, mentioned that 36-year-old Balach Khan Bali was abducted by personnel of the Pakistan Army on December 3 from Salala Bazar in Turbat city, Kech district, while he was travelling home from the main market.
“Balach, who serves as a Computer Science lecturer at the University of Turbat, is widely known for his professionalism, dedication to his students, and his commitment to higher education in the region. His disappearance has caused deep distress to his family, colleagues, and the academic community,” Paank stated.
Condemning the incident, Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) described it as part of a continuing pattern of enforced disappearances in Balochistan.
The rights body urged human rights organisations to review the case of Balach, called for transparency and pushed for his immediate release. It also stressed the need for credible investigations into the actions of Pakistani security agencies in Balochistan.
--IANS
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