In a stark and chilling protest against what they term state-backed abductions, families of missing persons in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province have taken to a key highway, braving freezing temperatures to demand answers. The protest site is strategically located on the Makran Coastal Highway, a vital artery of the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), highlighting the deep human rights crisis unfolding alongside flagship infrastructure projects.
A Desperate Sit-In in the Biting Cold
The protest, which began on a recent Tuesday, has seen men, women, and children from the Turbat district camp out on the highway near the small town of Hoshab. Their demand is singular and urgent: the safe recovery of their loved ones who they allege have been forcibly disappeared by state security agencies. The protesters, including the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), a prominent advocacy group, assert that these enforced disappearances are a systematic tool used to suppress dissent, particularly in regions critical to CPEC.
Among the names raised by the grieving families is that of Balach Murad Bakhsh, whose family claims he was taken into custody by security forces in Turbat on October 29. Despite court orders for his production, his whereabouts remain unknown. Another case highlighted is that of Dr. Javed Iqbal, a professor who was reportedly abducted from Quetta over a year ago. The protestors' sit-in has deliberately frozen traffic on a section of the CPEC route, symbolically linking their plight to the high-profile development project that passes through their homeland.
CPEC and the Shadow of Security Operations
The location of the protest is highly significant. The Makran Coastal Highway is a cornerstone of CPEC, designed to connect the strategic Gwadar Port to the rest of Pakistan. Baloch nationalist groups have long opposed CPEC, alleging that it exploits the province's resources without benefiting its people. Pakistani authorities, in turn, have often cited security concerns and militant activity to justify a heavy security presence in the region.
Human rights organizations have consistently documented a pattern of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, with victims often being students, activists, and professionals. The state typically denies involvement, labeling missing individuals as victims of militant infighting or as having joined insurgent groups. However, protestors and international watchdogs reject this narrative, pointing to witness accounts of raids by uniformed and plain-clothed personnel.
The protest has garnered attention from Pakistani politicians, with Senator Tahir Bizenjo and others visiting the site to express solidarity. They have called upon the federal and provincial governments to address the families' legitimate concerns immediately. The demonstrators have vowed to continue their sit-in until their missing relatives are presented in court, refusing to end what has become a painful vigil for justice.
A Deepening Crisis with No End in Sight
The ongoing protest underscores a severe and persistent human rights emergency in Balochistan. It exposes the stark contradiction between Pakistan's ambitions for regional connectivity through mega-projects like CPEC and the allegations of grave rights abuses occurring in the same territories. The families' decision to protest on the highway itself is a powerful act of non-violent resistance, forcing travelers and the state to confront an issue often shrouded in secrecy and denial.
This crisis is not new. Organizations like the VBMP have been campaigning for years, maintaining protest camps in Quetta for over a decade. The current highway sit-in represents an escalation of their desperate tactics, born out of frustration with official inaction. The protesters' core demand remains the implementation of court orders and the end of the practice of enforced disappearances.
As the families endure the cold nights on the CPEC highway, their protest poses a critical question about the cost of development and security. The resolution of this crisis will be a key test for Pakistan's judiciary, its government's commitment to human rights, and the future stability of the Balochistan region, which is geopolitically crucial yet simmering with discontent.
