On October 25, 2023, at 1 a.m., a young Baloch man named Balach, son of Muhammad Khalid, was abducted by Pakistan Arm from Turbat district in Pak-occupied-Balochistan. He was taken to an unknown location and is now missing.
The missing youth has been identified as Balach Walid. The Voice for Baloch Justice, a human rights organization, has condemned the abduction and demanded the immediate release of Balach. The organization has also appealed to human rights organizations to take note of the forced disappearances of Baloch youths and play a role in their recovery.
In a statement by Daren Ithna, Vice Chair of the Baloch Bar Council, it is mentioned that four youths from Turbat have been forcibly disappeared by the Pakistan Army. Among the missing youth, two have been identified. Sarfraz, son of Ayub, was abducted from his shop in Absar, while Balach Walid Khalid was forcibly disappeared by the Pakistan Army from Sangani Sar. The forced disappearances of Baloch youth have surged again, and several youths have been forcibly disappeared from various areas of Balochistan in recent days, which is a matter of great concern.
The forced disappearance of Baloch youths is a serious problem in Balochistan. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, over 47,000 Baloch and around 35,000 Pashtuns are missing. The Commission of Inquiry of Enforced Disappearances has received over 950 new complaints of enforced disappearances in the first four months of 2023.
The case of Balach Walid is just one of many cases of enforced disappearances in Pakistan-occupied-Balochistan. There are thousands of people who have been forcibly disappeared, and Pakistan Army is solely responsible for these disappearances. Pakistan-occupied-Balochistan have a long history of human rights abuses, including torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances.