Enforced disappearance: Baloch women dragged to streets by police

“This is so called Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Baloch women being dragged on the streets of Karachi for demanding release of Baloch missing persons. Unfortunately Pakistan is member of UN,” tweeted Ashraf Baloch, a human rights activist.

The issue of enforced disappearance is going on in Pakistan.

The government and the people of Pakistan remain engaged with the issue of enforced disappearances.

From time to time, voices are raised by civil society against the impunity with which the armed forces, intelligence agencies, and police carry out such acts, with little or no accountability, reports International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS).

To that extent, this year was no different. To mark the International Day of the victims of enforced disappearance (30 August 2022), Rights Groups in Pakistan highlighted the cases of disappearances that continued and put people at risk of torture or death.

The irony is that successive Pakistan governments have pledged to end the practice of enforced disappearances.

However, the practice continued during their tenure. The reality is that the Pakistani state is comfortable with using enforced disappearance as a tool to throttle dissent and this persists till date.