Quetta: Human rights organization Paank has strongly condemned the enforced disappearance of Chief Safar Baloch, who was reportedly disappeared earlier today by Pakistani state intelligence agencies in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
According to verified sources, Chief Safar Baloch was extrajudicially detained from his shop located in the Customs area of Quetta. Since his abduction, his whereabouts remain unknown, and he has been held incommunicado.
Paank described the incident as a grave violation of both domestic and international human rights laws, particularly the right to liberty, security and freedom from arbitrary detention as outlined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Pakistan is a signatory.
“This is not an isolated case,” Paank stated. “Chief Safar Baloch’s disappearance is part of a long-standing and systematic campaign of enforced disappearances that has plagued Balochistan for decades. Families of the disappeared continue to live in torment, denied justice and accountability.”
Paank has called for the immediate and unconditional release of Chief Safar Baloch and demanded that the Pakistani state be held accountable for its ongoing human rights violations in Balochistan.
The organization also urged international human rights bodies, the United Nations, and global civil society to take swift action and pressure Pakistani authorities to end the practice of enforced disappearances.
The statement concluded “Justice for the disappeared. Accountability for the perpetrators“.
