In a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) and the global community, Baloch Students Organization (BSO)-Azad appealed to the international community to put pressure on Pakistani authorities to safely release Shabbir Baloch and all other political prisoners and hostages from “torture centres”.
The letter said, “People of the world, the Pakistani government continues its brutality against the Baloch. It has killed millions of people, including children, elderly and women, regardless of the group they belong to. The Pakistan Army has been carrying out numerous military operations and massacres; the recent tragic incidents of Surab, Mastung and Dasht reflect this brutality.”
It further said, “It has led to the enforced disappearance of millions of people, including students, teachers, professors, doctors, lawyers, journalists, intellectuals, political and human rights activists and many others.”
Referring to the forced disappearance of student leader and former information secretary of BSO Azad, Shabbir, the group said that on October 4, 2016, he was forcibly abducted by Pakistani security forces from Gwarkop area of Kech district of Balochistan in front of his wife Zarina Baloch.
The group said that since then his sister and wife have been fighting for Shabbir's safe release, but they have no information about his whereabouts.
The letter further said, “It has been a decade since Shabbir Baloch went missing, but family and friends have not received any information about his whereabouts. Similarly, this organization has also been the main target of the Pakistani government; many of our leaders and workers, including former president Zahid Baloch, vice president Zakir Majeed Baloch, joint secretary Asad Baloch and others were forcibly abducted.”
On the 10th anniversary of Shabbir's disappearance, several leading human rights organizations called on Pakistani authorities to reveal his whereabouts.
Expressing concern over Shabbir's disappearance, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) said, “Over the past decade, his family has pursued every available legal avenue, yet authorities have failed to provide any information about his whereabouts. The government must provide information on where he is and provide his family with the truth and justice they deserve.”
Furthermore, 'PANK', the human rights wing of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), urged Pakistani authorities to reveal Shabbir's whereabouts, ensure his safety and respect his fundamental rights. “His family has the right to truth, justice and accountability,” he said.