Quetta, Jan 13 (IANS) A leading human rights organisation on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the sharp rise in gender-based human rights violations across Balochistan in 2025, asserting that the enforced disappearances of Baloch women by Pakistani forces reflect a broader, systematic pattern of repression and collective punishment.
In its thematic report titled ‘Enforced Disappearances of Baloch Women in 2025: Collective Punishment and Gendered Human Rights Violations in Balochistan’, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) noted that while enforced disappearances have historically affected Baloch men, the year 2025 witnessed a marked increase in the direct targeting of women and girls across the province.
“During 2025, at least 12 cases of enforced disappearance involving women and girls were documented across multiple districts of Balochistan. These cases illustrate a consistent pattern of unlawful deprivation of liberty carried out without arrest warrants, judicial oversight, or legal justification, followed by denial of custody or refusal to disclose the fate or whereabouts of the victims. In several instances, more than one family member was targeted during the same operation, intensifying harm at the household level,” the report stated.
The BYC stressed that these incidents occurred within a broader context of human rights violations carried out in the name of Pakistan’s security operations, counter-insurgency measures, and militarised governance, where Baloch women increasingly became direct victims rather than indirect sufferers of state violence.
“The enforced disappearance of women constitutes a grave violation of fundamental human rights and produces consequences that extend beyond the individual victim. It destabilises families, fractures community structures, and generates an atmosphere of fear, silence, and social disintegration. In many cases, women are targeted to exert pressure on male relatives or entire families, reflecting a distinctly gendered form of repression,” the rights body stated.
According to the report, enforced disappearances were frequently accompanied by repeated raids, threats, and intimidation of families by Pakistani security forces.
“Homes were searched multiple times, and property was damaged or seized, indicating punitive measures extending beyond the individual victim. Several incidents involved the simultaneous targeting of multiple family members, intensifying trauma and destabilising entire households, particularly affecting women, children, and elderly relatives,” it added.
The BYC called on international human rights bodies to urgently monitor the situation, stating that these practices violate constitutional guarantees, contravene international law, and inflict enduring harm on families and communities.
–IANS
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