In a display of Pakistan’s oppressive policies towards the Baloch community, Pakistan security forces conducted a midnight raid on an apartment near the IJP Metro Station in Rawalpindi, abducting ten Baloch students. The students, all residing at the apartment, were taken to an undisclosed location, leaving their families and communities in anguish as yet another case of enforced disappearance unfolds.
The students identified as Saleem Arif, Balach Fida, Khudadad, Khalil Ahmed (two individuals with the same name), Hamal Hasani, Babar Ata, Noor Mahim, Iftikhar Azam, and Ehsam, were pursuing higher education in fields such as International Relations and Education. Hailing from regions across Pak-occupied-Balochistan, including Turbat, Awaran, and Panjgur, these young individuals had come to Islamabad in search of knowledge and opportunities. Instead, they became the latest targets of Pakistan’s relentless crackdown on Baloch youth, a systematic policy that aims to stifle voices from POB.
Rawalpindi Raid
The Baloch Students Council in Islamabad expressed deep concern over the students’ safety, urgently appealing for support in securing their release. “We fear for their lives,” a Council spokesperson said, calling on all communities and organizations to condemn these abductions and pressure authorities to safely return the students. They warned that, should the students not be released soon, they would announce further actions to protest the escalating repression.
These disappearances on the same day underscore the systematic persecution of Baloch individuals by the occupied-state. The Paki establishment’s calculated campaign of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and oppressive tactics aim to silence a community that dares to demand basic human rights and autonomy. This strategy, long condemned by international human rights organizations, reflects an ongoing Baloch genocide under Pakistan’s iron-fisted rule.