They Were Taken.
Their Families Are Still Waiting.
In Balochistan, Pakistan, thousands of people — students, doctors, farmers, fathers, mothers — have been forcibly disappeared by state security forces. No charges. No trials. No answers.
Baloch Voice for Justice exists to make sure the world hears their names and demands they be returned alive.
Numbers That Represent Lives
Each figure below is a person taken from their family. These are only the documented cases — the true scale is believed to be far higher, as fear and restricted media access prevent full reporting.
Enforced disappearances documented in Balochistan
People forcibly disappeared in Balochistan
Extrajudicial killings documented
Mutilated bodies recovered — victims of 'kill and dump'
Days of continuous protest by grieving families outside Quetta Press Club
Of known victims in 2024 were students — the deliberate elimination of a generation
“The simple, yet devastating question — ‘Where is he?’ — echoes the painful uncertainty faced by thousands of families. This deliberate denial of information is itself a form of psychological torture.”
— Baloch Voice for Justice
Enforced Disappearances in Balochistan
Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province by land, home to vast natural resources — and Pakistan's most systematically repressed people. For over two decades, the Pakistani state has employed enforced disappearances as a weapon against the Baloch nation.
What Is an Enforced Disappearance?
Under international law, an enforced disappearance occurs when a person is arrested, detained, or abducted by state agents — and the state then denies the deprivation of liberty or conceals the fate or whereabouts of the person.
It is recognized as a crime against humanity when carried out systematically. The UN Convention on Enforced Disappearances defines it as a continuing offense — an ongoing violation for as long as the person remains missing and their fate is unknown.
Pakistan has not ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Why Balochistan?
Despite containing Pakistan's largest reserves of natural gas, gold, copper, and minerals — and serving as the endpoint of the massive China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — Balochistan remains Pakistan's most impoverished province. The Baloch population has little say in or benefit from the exploitation of their land.
Enforced disappearances began escalating under military rule after 2001 and have intensified with each passing decade. Security forces target anyone who raises their voice — from students demanding rights to doctors leading protest marches. Instilling fear is the goal: if anyone can be taken, at any time, without recourse, an entire population learns to stay silent.
Taken Without Trace
Security forces — often plainclothes intelligence operatives alongside the Frontier Corps — conduct raids at homes, workplaces, and checkpoints. Victims are taken to unacknowledged detention sites. Their families receive no information: no charges, no location, no confirmation they are even alive.
Kill and Dump
Many of the disappeared are never returned alive. A documented systematic practice: victims are abducted, tortured, executed, and their mutilated bodies discarded on roadsides. Over 1,000 such bodies have been documented since mass graves were discovered in 2014.
A Deliberate Strategy
Enforced disappearances function as a tool of state control. Students, doctors, journalists, and community leaders — anyone perceived as challenging state authority over resource-rich Balochistan — are targeted. In 2024, students comprised over 50% of documented victims.
Silenced From All Sides
Media access to Balochistan is severely restricted. Internet and mobile networks are repeatedly shut down. Those who speak out face arrest — a human rights lawyer was sentenced to 17 years in January 2026 for posting about disappearances on social media.
The People Behind the Numbers
Every statistic is a name. Every name is a family torn apart.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch
Leader, Baloch Yakjehti Committee
She began protesting at age 16 after her father's first abduction. Her father was re-taken in 2011 and killed. In 2017, her brother was abducted. Despite earning her medical degree, she dedicated her life to justice. She led a historic march that brought over 2 million Baloch to Gwadar in July 2024. Named to TIME's 100 emerging leaders list and BBC's 100 Women. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Arrested on March 22, 2025 — she has now been detained for over a year without conviction.
Nobel Peace Prize nominee · TIME 100 · BBC 100 Women 2024
Sammi Deen Baloch
General Secretary, Voice for Baloch Missing Persons
For over 15 years, Sammi has been searching for her father, Dr. Dean Mohammed Baloch, who was forcibly disappeared in 2009. She testified before the UN Human Rights Council in September 2024, bringing the evidence of Balochistan's crisis to an international audience. She was arrested during the crackdown following the July 2024 National Gathering and has been placed on Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism watchlist.
Testified at UNHRC · 15+ years of advocacy
Mama Qadeer
Vice Chairperson, Voice for Baloch Missing Persons
A grandfather whose family members were taken. In 2014, he led a 2,000 km Long March from Quetta to Islamabad to demand answers. He has become an international symbol of the grief that enforced disappearances inflict across generations — and of the refusal to be silenced by that grief.
Led 2,000 km Long March in 2014
Salman Baloch
Forcibly disappeared civilian
Salman Baloch was taken by security forces from Quetta on November 13, 2022. His family has heard nothing in over three years. No charges. No location. No acknowledgment from authorities. His case is one of hundreds actively campaigned for by Baloch Voice for Justice.
Missing since November 13, 2022 — over 3 years
Some of the Names That Must Be Remembered
This list represents a fraction of documented cases. Thousands more remain unnamed in official records.
Two Decades of Resistance
Disappearances Begin to Escalate
Following the 9/11 attacks and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistani military rule under General Musharraf begins systematically using enforced disappearances as a counter-insurgency tool in Balochistan.
Voice for Baloch Missing Persons Founded
Families of the disappeared establish VBMP in Quetta on October 27. Their protest camp outside Quetta Press Club begins — a vigil that would continue for over 6,000 days.
The 2,000 km Long March
Led by Mama Qadeer and families of the disappeared, protesters walk from Quetta to Islamabad — over 2,000 km — to demand the return of missing persons. The march draws international attention.
Baloch Yakjehti Committee Founded
Dr. Mahrang Baloch establishes the BYC in July following her brother's abduction. The committee would grow into the most prominent active protest movement in Balochistan's recent history.
Baloch Long March to Islamabad
Triggered by the CTD's alleged extrajudicial killing of 20-year-old Balach Mola Baksh, thousands march to the capital. The action forces a national conversation on Balochistan.
Baloch National Gathering — 2 Million Strong
Over two million Baloch gather in Gwadar in the largest protest in Balochistan's history. The government signs a peace accord — commitments that have largely gone unfulfilled. Dr. Mahrang Baloch is named to TIME's 100 list and BBC's 100 Women.
Mass Arrests — BYC Leadership Detained
During a sit-in in Quetta, Pakistani security forces arrest Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, and other BYC leaders. They remain detained to this day, over a year later.
UNHRC 61st Session — World Raises Concerns
At the UN Human Rights Council's 61st session in Geneva, delegations from the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and others formally raise concerns about enforced disappearances in Balochistan. The Baloch National Movement leads protests outside the session.
What Justice Requires
These are the demands of the Baloch people, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, and human rights organizations working on Balochistan. They are not aspirational — they are minimum requirements of international law.
Return All Missing Persons
Every person taken by state forces must be returned alive and unharmed to their families immediately. Those who have died in custody must be accounted for.
End Enforced Disappearances
The systematic abduction of Baloch civilians by security forces must stop immediately and unconditionally. Perpetrators must face accountability.
Dismantle Illegal Detention Centers
All unacknowledged detention sites, including facilities like Kuli Camp in Quetta, must be shut down and independently inspected.
UN Fact-Finding Mission
An independent UN fact-finding mission must be dispatched to Balochistan with unrestricted access to document abuses and report to the international community.
Release BYC Leaders
Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, and all detained Baloch Yakjehti Committee leaders must be released immediately and unconditionally.
Accountability and Ratification
Pakistan must ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, criminalize enforced disappearances in domestic law, and prosecute those responsible.
International Recognition
All have documented, reported on, or raised formal concerns about enforced disappearances in Balochistan.
Silence Is Complicity.
You Can Do Something.
The families of the disappeared have spent years marching, protesting, and standing vigil. The least the world can do is bear witness — and add its voice.
Sign the UN Petition
Sign the petition calling on the United Nations to dispatch a fact-finding mission to Balochistan and hold Pakistan accountable for documented atrocities.
Sign the PetitionFollow & Share
Follow @BalochV4Justice on X/Twitter and amplify their campaigns. Use hashtags #StopBalochGenocide and #ReleaseBYCLeaders. Every share reaches someone who can act.
Follow on XContact Your Representative
Write to your Member of Parliament, Congressman, or Senator. Ask them to raise the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan and press for Pakistan's GSP+ trade status to be conditioned on human rights compliance.
Learn HowFollow Human Rights Reports
Paank (paank.org) and the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons publish regular updates on disappearances, killings, and the situation on the ground. Staying informed is the first step to acting meaningfully.
Read ReportsDr. Mahrang Baloch has become the symbol of peaceful resistance and the voice of thousands silenced by injustice. She stands fearlessly against enforced disappearances and human rights violations, carrying forward the universal values of truth, dignity, and hope.
— Baloch Voice for Justice