Pakistan: Body of missing Baloch youth found in Panjgur as protests intensifies

Panjgur [Pakistan] February 12 (ANI): The body of a Baloch youth who had been forcibly disappeared was found in Balochistan's Panjgur area on Tuesday.

The body was discovered in Panjgur's Shahu Kahan neighbourhood and was subsequently recognized as that of Hayat, son of Sabzal, who lived in Turbat's Bug neighbourhood, The Balochistan Post reported.

According to sources cited by The Balochistan Post, Hayat was supposedly forced to disappear by Pakistani soldiers from Turbat on July 3, 2024. Following his disappearance, his family organized a sit-in protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office, protesting against his abduction. Following discussions and the Deputy Commissioner's guarantee of his safe return, the demonstration was cancelled.

Hayat's body has been relocated from Panjgur to Shaheed Fida Ahmed Chowk in Turbat, where the victim's family and the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) will stage a sit-in protest. It's important to note that for the past three days, BYC has been holding a protest camp near Fida Shaheed Chowk protesting the murder of MPhil student Allah Dad Baloch, as reported by The Balochistan Post.

Human rights organisations and campaigners also condemned the incident.

Paank, the human rights department of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), condemned the incident in a post on X, stating that the systematic use of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions is a grave violation of international human rights law.

"Pakistan must fulfill its obligations to protect the right to life and due process," PAANK stated, as quoted by The Balochistan Post.

Earlier protests were held in several cities of Balochistan, calling for a stop to suspected enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the kidnapping of Baloch women. Baloch students in Islamabad and Uthal held quiet protests, while the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) organised rallies around the region, The Balochistan Post reported.

In solidarity, businesses in Mastung, Kalat, and other cities remained closed during shutter-down strikes. Protesters demanded that human rights groups and the UN step in and hold Pakistani officials responsible, according to The Balochistan Post. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)