Levies personnel in Gwadar protest missing colleagues amid enforced disappearances in Balochistan
Oct 04, 2024
Quetta [Balochistan], October 4 : Amid the ongoing atrocities and enforced disappearances in Balochistan by Pakistani armed forces, two colleagues from the Levies have recently gone missing. As a result, Levies personnel in the coastal city of Gwadar have refused to report for duty in protest against the alleged enforced disappearance of their two colleagues.
The Levies are locally recruited paramilitary forces responsible for security and law enforcement in Pakistan's tribal areas. According to the Balochistan Post, two Levies officials, Doda Khalid and Zakir Yaqoob, were arrested by Pakistani armed forces and intelligence personnel in Gwadar's New Town area on September 27.
During the incident, three civilians--Meraj Noor Bakhsh, Ijaz Hussain, and Ayub Hamza--were also reportedly taken, and their current whereabouts remain unknown.
On Thursday, Levies personnel gathered outside the Deputy Commissioner's office, demanding the immediate release of their missing colleagues. They pledged to continue their protest until Khalid and Yaqoob are safely returned.
In another incident from the Kech district of Balochistan, unidentified armed individuals abducted a young man in the central city of Turbat. The victim has been identified as Anees, the son of Mulla Barkat, according to the Balochistan Post.
Local sources report that Anees was taken into custody around 8:30 PM in the Seri Kahn area of Turbat. He was allegedly abducted in front of his shop by armed men in a Corolla. This incident has heightened concerns among residents, as enforced disappearances continue to be a persistent problem in the region.
Enforced disappearances in Balochistan are not isolated events but part of a larger crackdown on dissent, with Baloch activists accusing the military and intelligence agencies of orchestrating these abductions to suppress demands for autonomy. The impact extends beyond the victims, instilling fear in local communities and further diminishing trust in state institutions.
