Karachi: A seminar titled “16 Years Without Dr. Deen Mohammad Baloch” was held at the Karachi Press Club on Sunday to mark sixteen years since the enforced disappearance of Baloch political leader and Balochistan National Movement (BNM) member Dr. Deen Mohammad Baloch.
The event saw participation from a wide array of attendees, including journalists, lawyers, human rights activists, civil society members and families of forcibly disappeared persons.
The seminar was moderated by Dr. Deen Mohammad’s daughter, Mehlab Baloch, and featured speeches by several notable figures. These included Karachi Press Club President Fazil Jamili, senior journalists Wusatullah Khan and Mazhar Abbas, Asad Butt from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, renowned social activist and performer Sheema Kermani, Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) leader and Dr. Baloch’s daughter Sammi Deen Baloch, BYC Karachi’s Lala Wahab Baloch and activist Comrade Khurram Ali.
Speakers expressed deep concern over the growing number of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, describing the situation as a severe humanitarian crisis. They emphasized that the seminar was not just a remembrance but a continuation of the movement against state repression and a call for justice for the disappeared.
Attendees highlighted that both Mehlab Baloch and Sammi Deen Baloch have been protesting outside the Karachi Press Club since childhood for their father’s safe return. Yet, even after sixteen years, the state remains silent and unaccountable regarding his whereabouts.
Participants condemned the ongoing reports of enforced disappearances and mutilated bodies being discovered in Balochistan, lamenting that mainstream media and state institutions continue to suppress these voices. They warned that if the state believes fear can suppress this struggle, it is gravely mistaken, resistance persists.
In her address, Sammi Deen Baloch criticized the heavy deployment of Sindh police, road blockades and intimidation of participants. Despite these tactics, she said, a large crowd attended the seminar, raising their voices against enforced disappearances.
Concluding the event, Sammi Deen Baloch extended her heartfelt thanks to all guests and participants for showing solidarity and amplifying their cause. “We are grateful to everyone who stood with us and became our voice in this ongoing struggle,” she said.
