What Concerns Does Pak's Rights Body Have Regarding the Arbitrary Detentions and Disappearances of Baloch Women?
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Key Takeaways
Quetta, Dec 30 (NationPress) The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has raised its voice with significant concern about the ongoing trend of arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances, specifically highlighting several recent incidents involving Baloch women and girls, according to local media reports from Tuesday.
In an official statement, the HRCP noted that two students from the University of Peshawar - Habib Wazir and Adnan Wazir - have been missing since November 12 after attending a government-organized jirga. The organization emphasized that their reported abduction illustrates how due process is often ignored, as reported by The Balochistan Post.
The rights organization expressed alarm regarding the supposed disappearance of former lawmaker Nisar Panhwar and his son Mohsin Panhwar, who were reportedly taken by unidentified men in plain clothes in Karachi on December 22. This incident has occurred amidst a troubling rise in disappearances, affecting various individuals including women, minors, and activist Mahjabeen Baloch along with at least six others in Balochistan during November and December.
The HRCP stated that these actions violate constitutional rights and have inflicted irreparable harm on families awaiting news about their loved ones. The organization insisted, 'The state must guarantee transparency, hold perpetrators accountable, and provide unconditional access to justice.
On December 22, a 15-year-old student named Nasreen (Nasreena) Baloch was reportedly forcibly taken from her home during a nighttime raid in Hub Chowki.
On December 20, two women from the same household - Hani Dilwash, who is eight months pregnant, and Hair Nisa, aged 17, were allegedly detained during a late-night raid in Hub Chowki. Their current whereabouts remain unknown.
Earlier, on December 1, a woman named Farzana Zehri was purportedly detained while returning from a hospital in Khuzdar, while another woman, Rahima, was taken along with her brother in Dalbandin and remains missing.
Meanwhile, numerous Baloch families protested in Kech district against the enforced disappearance of four family members by Pakistani forces on December 23. According to the BYC, the victims - two women and two men - named Fareed Ijaz, Mujahid Dilwash, Hani Dilwash, and Hair-Nisa Wahid were forcibly disappeared by Pakistani authorities. The rights organization reported that their families have taken to the streets of Tejaban village in Kech, demanding the safe return of their loved ones.
'Their protest is peaceful, yet their voices are being overlooked, and no clear information has been provided regarding the whereabouts of the missing family members. The families have vowed to continue their protest until all four are safely returned. They are appealing to the residents of Tejaban and nearby regions to unite with them and speak out against enforced disappearances, a practice that has devastated countless families throughout Balochistan,' the BYC stated on X.