Quetta witnessed a large protest and rally by the family and supporters of Zaheer Ahmad Baloch, who was forcibly disappeared by Pakistan’s security forces in June. Zaheer, a occupied-govt’s employee with no political background, vanished on June 27 while traveling home from his office at the General Post Office in Quetta. Despite numerous appeals for his recovery, the authorities have turned a deaf ear, forcing his family to take to the streets.
Protesters gathered in significant numbers, holding pictures of their missing loved ones, calling for the immediate recovery of Zaheer and other Baloch individuals who have been victims of Pak Army’s notorious policy of enforced disappearances. This brutal tactic, primarily deployed by the Pakistan Army, has become a hallmark of its strategy to suppress the Baloch community, silencing dissent with violence and fear.
Zaheer’s family revealed that their home has been raided multiple times in the dead of night by security forces, adding to the trauma inflicted on the family. Zaheer’s wife also recounted how previous peaceful protests had been met with violence, and despite promises from authorities, no action has been taken to secure her husband’s release.
The disappearance of Zahoor Baloch is just one of the countless cases in Pak-occupied-Balochistan, where the Pakistan Army, in collaboration with its intelligence agencies, has been running an aggressive campaign of abductions, indiscriminate shootings, and extrajudicial killings. The infamous “kill and dump” policy, where missing persons are later found dead, their bodies dumped in desolate areas, has left a permanent scar on POB’s landscape. Thousands of Baloch citizens, many of them students, political activists, and innocent civilians, have been abducted without any legal process, leaving their families to live in perpetual fear and uncertainty.
The rally was not just about Zahoor. Many families of other missing Baloch persons, along with political activists and students, joined the demonstration, highlighting the widespread issue of enforced disappearances in the region. The protestors called for an end to Pakistan’s draconian policies in POB, urging the international community to take notice of the blatant human rights violations taking place under the guise of national security.