Six men, including three brothers, were allegedly forcibly disappeared during a raid in Panjgur district of Balochistan on April 14, local sources said, while the family of another missing man demanded his recovery at a press conference in Quetta. Pakistani forces carried out house raids in the Hakeem Bazaar area of Parom in Panjgur, during which the men were detained and moved to an undisclosed location, sources said.
Those who disappeared were identified as Sabir, Shareef and Shakeel, sons of Ghulam Hussain; Mukhtiar, son of Ghulam Rasool; Hussain, son of Nisar; and Maula Bakhsh, son of Sakhi Dad. In a related development, Aamir, son of Jasim Walidad, a resident of Mand in Kech district who had been forcibly disappeared from Gwadar on December 26 last year, and Ilyas, son of Miadad, who was disappeared on April 6, were released, a report in The Balochistan Post said.
Separately, the wife of Mohammad Siddique Langove held a press conference calling for the immediate recovery of her husband, who she said was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces from their home in Killi Ismail at around midnight on April 7. She said the family had received no information about his whereabouts and was living in “complete uncertainty,” adding that their children continued to ask about their father.
She appealed to the authorities and the judiciary to ensure that, if her husband faced any allegations, he would be produced before a court. There have been incidents in the recent past in which men in custody were shot dead after being produced in the court in fake encounters.
Meanwhile, a Baloch woman died after being struck by a speeding vehicle belonging to Pakistani forces in Kech district’s Turbat on Monday, her family and local residents said. The incident took place on Commissioner Road, family members said. They identified the woman as Hameeda and said she was crossing the road when she was struck.
Rescue teams attempted to shift her to the hospital in a critical condition; however, she succumbed to her injuries. Security officials blamed the victim, saying she had not exercised caution while crossing the road. However, the family disputed that account and called for a transparent investigation.
Members of the public said this was not the first such case and that children and other civilians have previously been hit by speeding vehicles belonging to the forces in populated areas. They said such vehicles are often driven at high speed on busy roads, resulting in harm to civilians on multiple occasions.
One man from the family of the woman who got hit by the speeding vehicle said there is a method in this apparent madness displayed by certain elements of the security forces. He explained that the vehicles pass through inhabited areas at high speed because the security forces fear being ambushed there.
