A young Baloch student has disappeared after being abducted by Pakistani forces in Hub, a town of strategic importance on major international trade routes situated in the Balochi region of Pakistan late on Saturday night. While the reason for his arrest is unknown, those out on protest calling for his return note the Pakistani state’s ongoing policy of oppression against the Baloch people.
The circumstances of the arrrest of Zubair Baloch, a student at Balochistan University and a former employee of the Baloch newspaper Intekhab, are unclear, according to his sister. His abduction immediately sparked widespread protests, with demonstrators mobilising to block the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC highway). They demanded his immediate release, vowing to continue the protests indefinitely if their demands are not met.
Generalised violence and human rights abuses by the Pakistani military are widespread in Balochistan, with abductions frequently leading to staged encounters and extrajudicial killings. A Baloch man was forcibly disappeared in the city of Turbat on Friday night, his body being discovered in a desolate area the following day. The Pakistan Frontier Corps imposed a cordon around the area, stopping locals from retrieving the body and preventing a post-mortem examination.
In a press release following Zubair Baloch’s disappearance, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) noted that the implementation of enforced disappearances is a deeply entrenched practice that has impacted nearly every Baloch household. “Baloch people are being punished in the state’s torture cells simply for being Baloch,” the press release said. “If we want to rid ourselves of this menace, [we] must unite […] We will confront it as an organised and determined nation,” said the victim’s sister on X.
