On Sunday, October 20, in Karachi, a peaceful rally was held by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a Baloch political institution, against the surge in enforced disappearances in Pakistan-occupied Balochistan (POB).
The peaceful protest was met with brutality by the Pakistan Army’s instrument, the Sindh police. The Pakistani establishment and policemen in plain clothes arrested Baloch protesters, wielded batons, inflicted violence, and mercilessly tortured them to suppress the protest.
Sindh police prevented Baloch protesters from holding a peaceful demonstration at the Karachi Press Club. Karachi police and law enforcement agencies brutally attacked the peaceful protest by BYC at the Press Club, baton-charging and dispersing the demonstrators. Several protesters, including the deputy organizer of BYC, Abdul Wahab Baloch, were tortured and arrested during the protest. Lala Wahab, along with four other protesters, was charged with an FIR and is currently in the custody of Artillery Maidan police station in Saddar.
The intense crackdown continues, with BYC activists and civil society members being beaten and dragged for exercising their fundamental right to public assembly and peaceful protest. Lala Wahab Baloch has gone missing along with five other colleagues after being tortured in front of the Karachi Press Club, with no FIR filed for the entire day.
The protest aimed to highlight the alarming rise in enforced disappearances of Baloch individuals. Pakistan occupied Balochistan has become a living hell, where Balochs are abducted and extrajudicially killed by the Pakistan Army and its allied agencies simply for their identity. Thousands have disappeared, and many continue to vanish daily, discarded under the Army’s brutal ‘kill and dump policy.’
Many of the disappeared remain only as faces in posters held by family members during protests, as children, elderly mothers, and wives sit in harsh conditions, demanding justice. However, these families are harassed and tortured for seeking answers. The severity of the crisis is underscored by the ongoing Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) protest camp in Quetta, which has lasted over 5,612 days, seeking accountability peacefully.
The practice of forced disappearances dates back to the 1970s, following the forceful annexation of Balochistan by the Pakistan Army. Initially, these tactics were used to counter resistance against the occupation by Punjabi elites, but they are now applied to civilians, students, activists, and journalists—anyone deemed dissenters by the Pak Army.
Balochistan gained independence four days before India but tragically enjoyed it for only 227 days. When offered three choices—merge with India, join Pakistan, or remain independent—Khan Mir Ahmed Yar Khan, the last ruler and Khan of Kalat, chose independence. On August 11, 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah signed a treaty with Kalat, recognizing it as an independent state and promising to respect its sovereignty.
However, Pakistan betrayed this agreement and decided to annex Balochistan. The Khan of Kalat appealed to India for help, but his plea went unanswered. On March 27, 1948, the All India Radio quoted V.P. Menon, stating that the Khan had approached India for accession, but Jawaharlal Nehru could not help. The Khan eventually yielded, and Balochistan was forcibly integrated into Pakistan.
Since the annexation, Balochistan has been neglected and exploited, turning it into a poverty-stricken province. This has triggered several uprisings, most notably in 1958, 1962, and the early 1970s. The Paki establishment has responded with brutal repression, targeting every aspect of Baloch life. In occupied Balochistan, every state agency—be it the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), military death squads, or other institutions—operates against the Baloch people, with military operations and bombardments in civilian areas killing children, livestock, and pushing an already deprived community deeper into suffering.