Protests Erupt in Balochistan Over Kidnapping: Highway Blocked

Tribal protests over a kidnapped boy halted traffic on the Quetta-Chaman highway, disrupting trade. The demonstration, fueled by authorities' inability to locate the boy, led to market closures and highlighted enforced disappearance issues in Balochistan. Human rights organizations decry such tactics against dissent.

Traffic came to a standstill between Quetta and northern Balochistan on Saturday as tribesmen, alongside the relatives of an abducted 11-year-old boy, took to blocking the Quetta-Chaman highway near Baleli. This protest created a significant traffic jam, disrupting Afghan transit trade and other import-export activities, as reported by Dawn.

Protesters obstructed the highway by setting up barricades and parking vehicles near the Pakistan Customs checkpost in Baleli. This act of defiance emerged following the authorities' failure to locate the missing boy by the deadline set for Saturday. Haji Raz Mohammad Kakar, the boy's father, lamented, "We have no knowledge of the whereabouts of the abducted boy so far and no one has contacted the family."

Law enforcement, including police, claimed to have raided suspected hideouts of the abductors in attempts to recover the boy safely. Despite these efforts, no progress has been made, intensifying the frustration among protesters. In addition to blocking the highway, they also obstructed traffic on the airport road near Askari Park, further complicating matters for hundreds of motorists, according to Dawn's report.

Showing solidarity with the family, all jewelry businesses and markets in the region were shut down, spearheaded by the Balochistan Jewellers' Association (BJA), as the abducted boy's grandfather is a jeweller. A protest rally, led by the association's president, featured jewellers marching with banners and placards to voice their demands for justice. Speakers at the rally criticized law enforcement agencies, emphasizing the government's obligation to ensure public safety, as noted in Dawn's coverage.

The issue of enforced disappearances continues to be a grave concern in Balochistan, a region already troubled by political upheaval and conflict. These disappearances, often attributed to detentions by security forces without legal recognition, have sown fear and uncertainty among the Baloch population.

Human rights organizations frequently accuse Pakistani law enforcement and military forces of employing such disappearances to suppress opposition and intimidate activists, students, and regular citizens, as reported by ANI.

(With inputs from agencies.)