Several individuals who were publicly declared as “missing persons” in Balochistan were later found to be linked to banned militant organizations, according to claims by BYC and posters released by banned outfits, BLA and BLF and Family interviews.
Saira Baloch appeared in a BBC documentary claiming that her brothers, Asif Baloch and Rashid Baloch, had been forcibly disappeared by law enforcement agencies in 2018. The same claim was repeatedly promoted by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) through protests and coordinated social media campaigns.
In 2023, images circulated by BYC-linked activists showed Saira Baloch holding photographs of Asif and Rashid during demonstrations against state institutions. However, images from the same year later surfaced showing both individuals seated in a militant hideout alongside Allah Nazar, the leader of the banned Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
No missing persons report or First Information Report (FIR) was registered regarding the alleged disappearance of Asif Baloch and Rashid Baloch, despite claims that they had been in state custody since 2018.
In August this year, lawyer and activist Iman Hazir Mazari released a video message urging the Baloch Yakjehti Committee to initiate a social media campaign portraying Asif and Rashid as missing persons and attributing responsibility to state institutions.
Similar cases have been documented. Gul Zadi, another activist associated with BYC, had claimed that her brother, Abdul Wadood Satakzai, was forcibly disappeared in 2021. Official records show that Wadud was employed as a clerk with Balochistan Mineral Coal before joining militant camps. He was later killed during a counterterrorism operation in Bolan. His poster was shared by banned BLA, portraying him as a BLA commander who died in the Dar-e-Bolan Operation.
In November, the banned BLF released photographs of militants involved in an attack on the Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters in Nokundi. One of the attackers was identified as Asif Baloch alias Khalid, who had also been declared missing by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee for an extended period. He was killed by security forces during the failed attack.His poster was released by BLF , portraying him as a comrade.
Following the incident, Asif Baloch’s father released a video statement confirming that his son had joined banned militant organizations rather than pursuing education. He stated that his son had threatened the family and warned them against disclosing his activities.
Posters by Banned outfit, statements by families, protest play cards by BYC showing these militants as enforced disappeared indicate a consistent pattern in which individuals who left their homes to join militant groups or receive training in Afghanistan or remote mountainous areas were later declared missing. Subsequent appearances of these individuals in militant propaganda, camps, or attack footage confirmed their affiliation with banned outfits, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
