Local residents blocks highway in Balochistan against enforced disappearance of students
Jan 01, 2023
Balochistan [Pakistan], January 1 : Local residents took to the streets in Balochistan's Khuzdar district on Sunday and blocked the main highway in the region after the forceful abduction of two students by the Pakistani forces, Pakistan vernacular media reported.
Due to the highway's closure, a long line of cars formed, trapping many passengers, The Balochistan Post reported.
Siraj Noor and Mohammad Arif, two Girishg students, were kidnapped by the Pakistani military while on holiday in their hometown.
Siraj Noor, one of the missing, is a 6-semester law student at Sargodha University, while Muhammad Arif earned his MA from Balochistan University in 2022, The Balochistan Post reported, adding that while different schools of thought condemn the youth's forced disappearance, the authorities have not yet stated their position on the matter.
Cases of physical intimidation and enforced disappearances of the local Baloch population have significantly increased even as the offensive against the Baloch liberation force rages on, International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS) Reported.
Reports suggest that there is continuous pressure on Pakistan from China to safeguard the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Chinese citizens that are involved in the project.
Time and again, Balochistan National Party leader Akhtar Mengal had accused the Pakistan security forces of carrying out fake encounters and enforced the disappearance of Baloch locals.
Cases of fake encounters and disappearances grew by three folds during Imran Khan's tenure as prime minister. This is despite the fact that the Baloch National (Menghal) Party was in coalition with Imran's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Collectively, these incidents have resulted in thousands disappearing in the Baloch province. IFFRAS reported, citing Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, an organisation that looks into missing persons, that more than five thousand people are still missing. The missing include students, activists, women and children, it said.
