Enforced Disappearances: Two Baloch students picked up in Karachi

In another suspected incident of enforced disappearances in Pakistan, a Baloch student and his brother were picked up from their residence, located near Karachi University (KU) campus, here on Thursday.

According to dawn.com, Mumtaz Sajidi Baloch and his brother Kamran Sajidi were reportedly picked by some people in plainclothes, who were accompanied by police personnel at about 4 am on Thursday.

Mumtaz, who was pursuing International Relations programme in the KU, had been active in civil society protests, according to the Dawn report. His brother had recently completed his intermediate.

The forced disappearance comes just weeks after another KU student was taken away in similar fashion from the campus.

Sindh Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the abduction and said if the two had done something criminal, then they should be produced in the court of law.

"If Baloch students are picked up in this manner, the situation will move towards anarchy," said HRCP Vice Chairman Asad Iqbal Butt.

A first information report was yet to be registered in the matter, according to the media report.

Last month, Amnesty International called upon authorities in Pakistan to immediately end the practice of enforced disappearances.

Alarmed by reports it has received on enforced disappearances, particularly of activists in southwestern province of Balochistan, The London-based NGO called Islamabad to carry out independent and effective investigations to determine the fate of all missing people.

It asked the Pakistan authorities to either release the person in their custody or charge them with a recognisable criminal offence.