Naseem Baloch, the head of the Baloch National Movement, denounced the forced disappearance of Mahjabeen in Balochistan, highlighting the ongoing injustices occurring in the region.
According to a post shared by Naseem Baloch X, he stated that “Mahjabeen, a young woman from Besema, was abducted in Quetta by Pakistani forces. This is a cruel and shocking act. But it is not new. In Balochistan, such abductions happen daily. The Pakistani army and paramilitary forces regularly abduct and forcibly disappear people, and many of them never return”.
“The enforced disappearance is a serious crime under international law. But Pakistan keeps doing it again and again. The world stays silent, and that silence gives Pakistan the freedom to continue these crimes. The international community must remember what happened in 1971, when Pakistan committed genocide against the Bengalis. Today, the same kind of genocide is happening in Balochistan”, he stated.
“It is time for the world to speak out”, he asserted.
On Thursday evening Mahjbeen, the daughter of Ghulam Mustafah and a resident of the Bisima area in Washuk district, Balochistan, was forcibly taken from Quetta. Witnesses indicate that she was kidnapped by individuals from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), Military Intelligence (MI), and the Pakistan Army Security Forces at the Quetta Civil Hospital, as per a post shared by Paank on X.
Mahjbeen is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Library Science at the University of Balochistan. Her abduction is part of an alarming and ongoing trend of state-sponsored kidnappings in Balochistan. This act is a blatant infringement on fundamental human rights and poses a threat to academic freedom, according to Paank’s statement.
Enforced disappearances remain a significant human rights issue in Balochistan. International organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have consistently called on Pakistan to investigate these incidents and take measures to end this practice, which causes immense suffering and distress for families.