Baloch Yakjehti Committee to hold another protest rally amid rising number of disappearances of youth

Baloch Yakjehti Committee organized a peaceful protest rally in Kharan today to raise its voice for the missing youth due to the increase in the number of enforced disappearances by Pakistan Armed Forces.

The protest rally will be held in Kharan district of Balochistan at 3 pm on Friday.

On Thursday, Haji Barkat Tagapi’s son Ubaidullah Tagapi was abducted by armed forces earlier in the day, following which the family organized a protest. However, Pakistani armed forces harassed the family and forcibly stopped the demonstrations.

In a post on Twitter, BYC said, “The state has normalized the enforced disappearance of Baloch persons. In view of the increasing pace of enforced disappearances, BYC has organized a series of protests across Balochistan. Tomorrow – 25th October, 3pm – a peaceful protest rally will be held in Kharan. We appeal to the people of Kharan to join this protest rally and raise their voice for Ubaidullah and other victims of enforced disappearance.

Similarly, another protest was held in Panjgur district of Balochistan, where one of the protesters, Haseeb Baloch, was disappeared by the law enforcement agency. Haseeb Baloch is a 22 year old youth who has graduated from ARID University and is a resident of Panjgur. A peaceful protest was organized in Panjgur but state authorities used violence and abducted some protesters attending the demonstration.

Baloch people are protesting under the banner of “Breaking Silence: Standing Against Enforced Disappearance” in various districts of Balochistan. So far, protests have taken place in Karachi, Hub, Turbat and Khuzdar.

Incidents of enforced disappearances have raised human rights concerns in the state, creating fear in the minds of people. Peaceful protesters are being abducted by Pakistani armed forces, thereby violating freedom of speech and assembly. BYC has urged the Baloch people to join the protest and fight against the atrocities being committed by the state.