Quetta, Jan 4 (NationPress) In 2025, Pakistan's Balochistan experienced a significant surge in enforced disappearances alongside a marked increase in state repression and heightened restrictions on political activists. Reports indicate that the forcible disappearance of students, political activists, and relatives connected to the Balochistan resistance has persisted, with an alarming rise in cases involving women.

More than 10 women fell victim to enforced disappearance in 2025, with eight still unaccounted for as of now.

The Balochistan government, citing the need to reassert its authority, has intensified state repression, particularly targeting Baloch women, as reported by The Balochistan Post.

The publication stated, "As months and years go by in Balochistan, conditions continue to deteriorate rather than improve. The year 2025 saw a rise in enforced disappearances, intensified state repression, and additional constraints on political activists. The Pakistan Peoples Party-led government has failed to provide substantial legal grounds for the arrests and ongoing detention of Baloch political leaders, yet the courts in Balochistan have not succeeded in securing their release."

In the midst of a political crisis, official data revealed an increase in assaults on individuals, law enforcement, and security forces, including the Frontier Corps.

A total of 443 individuals, including 202 Army personnel, lost their lives in incidents involving suicide attacks, bombings, and targeted killings.

Throughout 2025, the Jaffar Express also suffered from repeated bomb blasts, infrastructural damage, and the hijacking of a train bound for Peshawar on March 11.

The Balochistan Post further reported, "As we enter 2026, there are no indications of alleviation in Balochistan's severe issues. At the close of 2025, personnel from the Balochistan Grand Alliance are continuing their pen-down strike. Families of disappeared women in Kech district are staging a sit-in on the CPEC highway, demanding their recovery, while the political struggle against state oppression persists. The escalation of attacks by Baloch armed groups is undermining state interests. Given these pressing issues and the war-like atmosphere in Balochistan, it is clear that the situation is unlikely to improve in the coming year."

Protesters have been staging a sit-in in the Kech district, blocking a vital segment of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for three consecutive days to advocate for the recovery of four missing family members, local media reported on Saturday.

This demonstration follows allegations that local authorities breached an agreement, leaving women and children exposed to freezing temperatures overnight.

According to the protesters, during negotiations with the district authorities last week, officials had guaranteed the recovery of the missing individuals, especially women. After a temporary halt to the sit-in, it resumed due to the authorities' inaction, as reported by The Balochistan Post.

The families claim that four individuals from the same family, one of whom is nine months pregnant, remain missing, raising serious concerns about their fate.

The four missing individuals, including two women, Hani Dilwash and Hair-Nisa, were forcibly taken from Hub Chowki, while two men, Fareed Ijaz and Mujahid Dilwash, were abducted from Tejaban in Kech by Pakistani military forces.

Additionally, the protesters alleged that Pakistani forces detained another four individuals, including two women, from Tejaban at the Hub checkpoint and transferred them to an undisclosed location. The families and demonstrators have also rejected social media claims suggesting that the detained individuals were plotting a suicide attack.