Baloch remember the victims, appeal for action against Pakistan!

On 'International Day for the Victims of Enforced Disappearances', many human rights organizations and activists from Balochistan remembered those who were forcibly disappeared from their homes, streets and communities by the Pakistani Army. At the same time, he also expressed solidarity with the families who have been facing uncertainty about the future of their loved ones for years.

He urged the United Nations and the broader international community to take meaningful and effective steps to ensure the release of thousands of forcibly disappeared Baloch, including children, women, youth and the elderly.

'International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearance' is celebrated every year on 30 August. It is a day designated by the United Nations, which was started in 2011 to raise global awareness about this grave violation of human rights and to honor the victims and their families.

On this occasion, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) said that between January 2016 and July 2026, it has records of 9,130 ​​cases of enforced disappearance across Balochistan.

The HRCB said, “This is a small fraction of the real number, as many areas are under tight control of security forces, making it difficult to keep track of the countless cases. Behind every number is a mother waiting for her son, a child waiting for his parents, a wife waiting for her husband, and a family living with uncertainty every day.”

Baloch Students Organization (BSO)-Azad accused Pakistani forces of taking “unlawful actions” against the people of Balochistan and said enforced disappearances were one of the most prominent forms of these atrocities.

Alleging that the state has now normalized this practice through various methods and policies, the organization called on the international community and human rights organizations to take immediate action and hold Pakistani authorities accountable for these “serious crimes”.

“Half of 2026 has passed. Till now, more than 800 Baloch students, political activists, teachers, doctors, labourers, shopkeepers and other civilians have become victims of enforced disappearance by Pakistani Army and intelligence agencies,” BSO said in an X Post.

The victims include women, girls, minor children, elderly and youth. People ranging from eight years to sixty years are involved in this. Not only this, the case of one and a half year old innocent named Zakir of Mastung is also included in this.”

Meanwhile, Baloch Yakzehti Committee (BYC) leader Sabiha Baloch said that although the day is celebrated across the world to remember those who have been forcibly disappeared, for the Baloch people, enforced disappearance is not an issue to be remembered once a year, but an everyday reality.

Sabiha said on her social media platform

Families wait for answers that may never come. For Balochistan, every day is a day of enforced disappearances. The world must not remain silent while families wait between hope and unbearable pain.”

On the occasion of the day, 'Baloch Voice for Justice' (BVJ) urged the international community to live up to its responsibility to protect human rights, demand accountability from Pakistani authorities and support efforts to end the practice of enforced disappearances in Balochistan.