Rights group condemns abductions of Baloch students from Karachi University

Lahore [Pakistan], June 15 : The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has strongly condemned the recent cycle of abductions and manhandling of Baloch students from Karachi University.
The Karachi police on Monday night arrested dozens of protesters, including women, who were staging a sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly against the abduction of the two missing students, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
The HRCP, in a statement, said the Baloch students are allegedly being picked up by law enforcement personnel, and those who demand their release are roughed up and arrested.
"In the case of two students who have just been released after pressure from their kin and civil society, it is noteworthy that their whereabouts remained unknown until the time of their release. Such enforced disappearances are not only illegal but inhuman," the group said.
It also expressed grave concern over the excessive use of force by the Sindh police against the relatives, activists and friends of the disappeared students.
"These peaceful protesters, which included women and children, had gathered outside the Sindh assembly to demand the safe recovery of their loved ones, but were met with violence and forcibly dispersed by the police," the group said.
They also reiterated their demand that enforced disappearances must be criminalised in line with the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
"Not only must this heinous practice be recognised as a distinct, autonomous offence and the perpetrators held strictly accountable, but the victims and their families must also be compensated for all they have suffered," the HRCP said.
Human rights activists allege that the law enforcement agencies in Pakistan are responsible for the cases of forced disappearance in the country.
Enforced disappearances are used as a tool by Pakistani authorities to terrorize people who question the all-powerful army establishment of the country, or seek individual or social rights.
Earlier this week, a London-based rights organisation strongly condemned the use of excessive force by the police to disperse peaceful protesters at a sit-in against the enforced disappearance of two Baloch students outside the Sindh Assembly.
"Violently cracking down on families demanding answers to the whereabouts of their loved ones only compounds the cruelty of the heinous practice of enforced disappearances," the group said in a Twitter post.