On a warm, early spring day, Islamabad High Court's Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani summoned caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar to his courtroom in a case pertaining to Baloch missing persons. Having once refused to abide by the IHC's orders and left for a foreign tour on another occasion, the premier finally appeared before the court on February 28.
The consequences of his appearance, however, were not favourable for the Baloch youth as yet another student, identified as Imtiaz Alam Baloch, was reportedly abducted from his hostel in the federal capital. The same day the premier took to the rostrum in court, Imtiaz was picked up at around 3 pm later that afternoon. He was released the next day after a video of his abduction, where he was bundled into an ambulance by men wearing uniforms, went viral.
Imtiaz is a Human Nutrition and Dietetics graduate from the Arid Agriculture University in Rawalpindi and is currently enrolled in the M.Phil programme for Public Health at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad. Imtiaz hails from one of Balochistan's most underdeveloped regions, Naal city, in the Khuzdar district. Even though he was released within 24 hours, there has been silence from him and the community at large on the alleged involvement of 'uniformed men' in his abduction from the federal capital in broad daylight. Perhaps these men are always meant to be hidden behind a visible veil of law and order, adding to the mystery of the "unidentified armed men".
Apart from creating an atmosphere of fear among the Baloch youth, particularly students, enforced disappearances of students leave a lasting impact on the psyche of all Baloch students everywhere. It plunges them into a state of ambiguity about every moment of their lives, a fear that their lives could be interrupted and left incomplete, like a half-finished but still warm cup of tea, their studies, their careers, their families, their community, their future and above all, themselves. It is this state of constant uncertainty and mental anguish which is distorting the lives of millions of Baloch students. The increase in enforced disappearances of Baloch students from every corner of the country is contributing to the deteriorating mental health of young Baloch students.
In the court, when PM Kakar was asked about this issue, he alluded that raising one's voice on enforced disappearances was equivalent to challenging the state, which is illogical and unjustifiable in itself. His other claim that people from other parts of the country are stopped and asked to prove their identity and are then killed merely for belonging to the Punjab is yet another misleading fact. By using these false claims, the caretaker prime minister proudly justified the abductions of Baloch students. This attitude will definitely become a contributing factor to the alienation of Baloch, especially students.
While the authorities do not offer a direct answer to this question, for the Baloch, however, the answer is deafeningly loud and clear: expect more disappearances
The definition of torture does not confine the act of inflicting suffering on others only to its physical manifestations. The worst form of torture is mental torture, which is inflicted by keeping a person in a constant state of uncertainty. At the moment, Baloch students are suffering from all forms of torture, from the physical torture inflicted by their unidentified abductors while in captivity to mental torture when not in captivity. Baloch students face a constant mental burden with loads of unnecessary, debilitating thoughts. A thought constantly at the back of every Baloch student's mind is if they will be abducted at any given moment through any means, even when all they see coming is an ambulance, as was the case with Imtiaz Alam.
In other words, we can say that the state appears to be pursuing in Balochistan a policy of "distorting a nation more with soft means to further colonise it".
The impact of enforced disappearances of Baloch students in broad daylight from bustling cities such as the federal capital or large metropolises in Punjab is greater on those who did not directly fall victim to this illegal act. Someone who is abducted directly, has to face the probing questions, the tortures and the long confinements. But those who were left behind have to silently suffer the mental trauma of an enforced disappearance. They have to spend their time alone, either worrying about those who were abducted or dwelling upon when they will be abducted.
"Who will be next?" has been one of the most popular and trending questions to be asked by Baloch students from authorities. While the authorities do not offer a direct answer to this question, for the Baloch, however, the answer is deafeningly loud and clear: expect more disappearances.
Living with such traumas is becoming harder for a Baloch student by the day. Witnessing the enforced disappearances of young Baloch puts dark clouds of confusion and worries on their heads. Taking a broader perspective on the root of the problem, it is again how state actors pretend to take the Baloch youth along, but to simultaneously continue enforced disappearances can never be a solution.