The Baloch Students Council (BSC) has issued a statement highlighting the escalating crisis of enforced disappearances of Baloch students, describing it as a grave human rights violation that demands urgent political attention.
According to the council, 10 Baloch students were abducted over the span of two days—on October 16 and 17, 2024—including nine students from Karachi and one from Khuzdar. The council claims these abductions are part of a systematic campaign by the Pakistani state to silence and suppress Baloch youth.
“These acts are not isolated incidents but part of a systematic campaign of state-enforced disappearances targeting Baloch people, particularly students, for no reason other than their identity,” the BSC stated.
Universities as Sites of Harassment and Repression
The council’s statement also raised concerns about the atmosphere of fear and repression within educational institutions. “What should be sanctuaries for learning, debate, and critical thinking have turned into spaces of harassment for Baloch students,” the council noted, criticizing how profiling and surveillance of Baloch students have become institutionalized.
The BSC emphasized that Baloch students studying in universities now live in constant fear of abduction for simply attending classes or voicing an opinion. This atmosphere of surveillance and intimidation, according to the BSC, violates fundamental rights such as education, freedom of expression, and personal security.
The council highlighted long-standing cases of enforced disappearances, referring to the cases of Feroz Baloch and Ahmed Khan, students from Arid University Rawalpindi, who have been missing for over two years. Their families continue to seek justice, but no progress has been made.
Despite peaceful protests and repeated efforts to engage the authorities, the state and its intelligence agencies have ignored these pleas, allowing enforced disappearances to continue unchecked. “This inaction by the state is a clear indication of complicity,” the council said, raising serious concerns about the state’s role in perpetuating this policy of repression.
Widespread Targeting of Baloch Students and Citizens
The BSC emphasized that the enforced disappearances of Baloch students are part of a broader political strategy aimed at silencing dissent. “By disappearing educated Baloch youth, the state seeks to crush the legitimate voices of the Baloch people and prevent the formation of a politically conscious generation,” the council stated.
In addition to the disappearances of students, the council reported that nine individuals were abducted from Nushki and 12 more from Dera Bugti in recent days, bringing the total number of enforced disappearances this month to a staggering 82.
The council pointed out that the scope of enforced disappearances has now expanded beyond students, with ordinary Baloch men also being targeted. “What was once viewed as a method to silence political dissent has now broadened into a widespread campaign of fear and repression targeting everyday Baloch people,” the BSC said, calling it a clear violation of basic human rights.
Calls for Accountability and International Action
The BSC squarely placed the responsibility for these disappearances on the Pakistani state and its intelligence agencies. “The state is using fear and repression as tools of control,” the council asserted, criticizing the authorities for failing to respond to repeated peaceful protests by Baloch students and families.
The Baloch Students Council concluded by urging the international community and human rights organizations to take immediate notice of this alarming situation. “Enforced disappearances are a crime under international law, and Pakistan, despite being a signatory to multiple human rights conventions, has failed to address this humanitarian crisis,” the council said, stressing the urgent need for global intervention to safeguard the rights of the Baloch people.