Balochistan and its people have long suffered at the hands of the Pakistani state. There has been a recent cycle of abductions and manhandling of Baloch students from Karachi University. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) “These students are allegedly being picked up by law enforcement personnel, and those who demand their release are roughed up and arrested. In the case of two students who have just been released after pressure from their kin and civil society, it is noteworthy that their whereabouts remained unknown until the time of their release. Such enforced disappearances are not only illegal but inhuman.”
HRCP expressed grave concern “over the excessive use of force on 13 June by the Sindh police against the relatives, activists and friends of the disappeared students. These peaceful protesters, which included women and children, had gathered outside the Sindh assembly to demand the safe recovery of their loved ones, but were met with violence and forcibly dispersed by the police.”
HRCP reiterated its long-held demand that “enforced disappearances must be criminalised in line with International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Not only must this heinous practice be recognised as a distinct, autonomous offence and the perpetrators held strictly accountable, but the victims and their families must also be compensated for all they have suffered.”
