Eight Baloch Students Mysteriously Disappear in Karachi

In Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, eight students from Balochistan have reportedly vanished from their shared home in Gulistan-i-Jauhar. Family members claim that law enforcement agencies are responsible for their disappearance, but the police have not commented on these allegations.

The missing students, identified as Shoaib Ali, Haneef, Ishfaq, Shahzad, Bebarg Ameer, Zubair, Qambar Ali, and Saeedullah, disappeared on October 16. Among them, three are students at Karachi University, three attend a seminary, one is an intermediate student, and another studies at Urdu University.

Wazir Ahmed, the elder brother of Qambar Ali, one of the missing students, stated that Qambar was taking coaching classes in Karachi. The families approached the police on October 17, but their report was not filed. Ahmed insists that the students have no political ties or involvement in suspicious activities and demands their immediate release.

Riaz Ahmed, a member of the Karachi University syndicate, condemned the disappearances, highlighting the issue of enforced disappearances in the region. This human rights concern has been prevalent in Balochistan, where activists, political leaders, and students often go missing, allegedly due to state security forces or non-state actors.

These disappearances create fear and insecurity, affecting communities and leaving families in distress without access to justice. The government faces criticism for its inadequate response to these cases, leaving many families without answers about their loved ones’ fate.