Security forces abducted four more persons in Balochistan’s Dera Bugti and Kech districts

Four more people were allegedly kidnapped by Pakistani security forces on Monday in the Balochistani regions of Dera Bugti and Kech, increasing the number of enforced disappearances that have occurred in recent months.

According to the Balochistan Post, a raid in the Patokh hamlet in Dera Bugti’s Siyah Aaf neighborhood resulted in the kidnapping of Joaho son of Bri Bugti and Jona son of Nokhaf Bugti. During the operation, the security personnel also destroyed and plundered their properties.

In a related incident, Sikandar, son of Ajab Khan Bugti, was kidnapped by security forces during a raid in Sui’s Garani neighborhood. Residents claim that tensions in the area have increased as a result of state-sponsored military actions.

Imtiaz, son of Nazeer Baloch, was allegedly relocated in the Kech district’s Buleda neighborhood, according to the Balochistan Post. “We appeal to human rights organizations to intervene and assist in securing his release,” the family stated, denouncing the event.

“Another Baloch student, Imtiaz Baloch, son of Nazeer Ahmed and a resident of Buleda, was forcibly disappeared in Quetta while heading home,” the Baloch Yakjehti Committee said in a post on X. Imtiaz is a first-semester Bahauddin Zakariya University student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public finance.

The BYC further emphasized, “We call on civil society and human rights groups to oppose these heinous atrocities against peaceful Baloch students and people. To hold Pakistani authorities responsible for their crimes against humanity and the Baloch Nation, we specifically urge the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances to act swiftly and preventatively.

In Balochistan, enforced disappearances are a regular phenomenon; according to sources, more than 55,000 people are now missing, and hundreds have been found dead. Human rights groups have repeatedly accused Pakistani military troops and intelligence services of carrying out these kidnappings, including Amnesty International and the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.