Quetta: Dr. Shalee Baloch, organizer of the Baloch Women Forum (BWF), has strongly condemned the illegal detention and enforced disappearance of Shafiq Baloch, describing it as deliberate pressure on the Baloch rights movement. She shared her statement on the social media platform X.
According to Dr. Shalee Baloch, Shafiq Baloch, a native of Zehri, Khuzdar, currently residing in Hub Chowki was detained and forcibly disappeared on December 17. She stated that the incident reflects an ongoing pattern of human rights violations and systematic surveillance and harassment of families connected to active political and social activists in Balochistan.
She noted that Shafiq Baloch is the father of Mahzeib Shafiq, a prominent activist whose campaign for the recovery of her forcibly disappeared uncle, Rashid Hussain, has become widely recognized within the broader Baloch struggle against enforced disappearances.
Dr. Shalee Baloch emphasized that despite enduring personal loss and continuous trauma, Mahzeib Shafiq has emerged as a leading voice not only for her own family but for the Baloch community at large. She said Mahzeb’s activism represents the collective pain of the Baloch people and a consistent demand for the release of all forcibly disappeared persons as a fundamental human right.
Describing the abduction of Shafiq Baloch as tragic not only for his family but also for those who viewed Mahzeib Shafiq as a symbol of hope and resistance, Dr. Shalee Baloch stated that targeting family members of activists is a clear attempt to intimidate them into abandoning their lawful and peaceful struggle.
She warned that such actions send a troubling message that legal and justified demands for human rights are being treated as acts to be suppressed rather than addressed.
Dr. Shalee Baloch called for the immediate relief and safety of Shafiq Baloch and urged an end to the harassment of families of human rights activists in Balochistan, stressing that collective punishment only deepens injustice and suffering.
