The Day of Baloch Missing Persons

Editorial

Balochistan has been facing serious human rights violations since the beginning of its occupation by Pakistan. The military occupation of Balochistan brought oppression and atrocities to the Baloch people. The Enforced Disappearances was the colonial tactics to silence the voices of the Baloch people. Since the last two decades enforced disappearances have been widely practiced by the state. Thousands of men, women, and even children have been picked up by state agencies and army, hundreds of them were later brutally killed and their mutilated bodies found in different locations. The prime target of the state was political activists and political leaders who were struggling peacefully struggling for the rights and freedom of their people. Many of their dead bodies were dumped in forests and remote areas during this process. Thousands of them are still in dungeons facing the worst form of state torture.
 
Zakir Majeed former Vice Chairman of BSO AZAD was forcefully abducted on 8th June 2009 from Mastung. The family of Zakir Majeed has been struggling for his release for 14 long years in different forms of demonstrations and long marches. BSO AZAD has declared 8th June as Baloch Missing Persons Day in 2016 to bring attention to the enforced disappearance issue which has affected the entire Baloch society and pay tribute to the courage and sacrifices of the Baloch missing persons who have faced the worst psychological and mental torture in the torture cells of Pakistan.
 
Despite political activism and raising this issue on all platforms, there was an uprise in the cases. Former chairman of BSO AZAD Zahid Baloch was abducted on 18th March 2014 in front of his fellow political worker Shaheed Banuk Karima in Quetta. There is a shred of clear evidence that the state has always been terrified of student leaders and political activism. Another student activist and central information secretary of BSO Azad Shabbir Baloch enforcedly disappeared on 4th October 2016. His sister Seema and his wife Zareena have been fighting for his safe release since then. There are thousand such cases and their families are still waiting for the return of their loved ones.
The families of missing persons have done a huge number of demonstrations and long marches to highlight this case in all possible ways. But the World Powers and International Organizations have played the role of silent spectators. It has motivated Pakistan to commit gross human rights violations without being questioned.
The enforced disappearance has impacted Baloch society in every aspect. Thousands of families endure economic, psychological, and social hardships. Many have lost the sole breadwinner of their family. This ambiguous loss for the family members has made them stuck between hope and despair which is the toughest pain to bear. On the eve of missing persons day, it is the duty of the Baloch Nation to support thousands of families who are enduring this heart-wrenching pain and struggling for the return of their family members.