The last three years have been a long wait, and it’s not over yet, with countless nights and nightmares. Balochistan has been entrenched in conflict for a long time, where students have been the primary victims of state violence. Throughout the last two decades, starting from the 2000s, students have been the vanguard for a society free of violence, enforced disappearances, kill-and-dump policies, and repression in Balochistan. Students have led several rights movements, and so far, the mass resistance party BYC has emerged.
The long walk of students from campus politics to the roads has been arduous and devastating, but the resistance posed by the Baloch people is their inheritance. Many students have fallen victim to kill and dump policies, enforced disappearances, and mass graves. This has been the fate of many thought-provoking and highly intellectual Baloch students, and the documented list of victims runs into the hundreds and thousands. To focus on their studies and live their lives a bit more, many Baloch students have relocated to various regions in Pakistan, including Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, they cannot shed their identity, as being Baloch has always been a “thorn in the side.” Even in other regions, Baloch students have fallen prey to state violence, including notable cases like Hafeez Baloch, Feroz Baloch, Ahmed Khan Baloch, Jawad Baloch, and Zaid Baloch. The abduction of 10 Baloch students from a flat in Rawalpindi is another grim example. The list of victims continues to grow and remains incomplete.
Feroz Baloch, a BS Education student at Arid Agricultural University Rawalpindi, was forcibly abducted on May 11, 2022. Like many Baloch students, Feroz spent his days attending classes and studying at the library. On the day of his abduction, his friends had left the library earlier, and he was alone on his way back to the hostel. While walking in a street near his hostel in Rawalpindi, he was abducted by law enforcement agencies, and his whereabouts remain unknown to this day.
Three years have passed since Feroz’s abduction, and it’s unimaginable how his mother and others in similar situations have endured these years. These years have felt like centuries for those who have lost their loved ones. At a young age, Baloch students feel a sense of responsibility, not just for themselves, but for their society and families who strive to provide them with a safer life outside Balochistan.
The enforced disappearances of Baloch students have become routine in Pakistan, rather than being treated as a crime. It seems that carrying the name “Baloch” or having a Baloch identity has become a liability, destined to meet the same fate. Many Baloch mothers have even discouraged their sons from pursuing education, as knowledge has become a source of agitation for the government, leading to forced disappearances. As Akhtar Mengal, a prominent figure, noted years ago while speaking to the media, Baloch mothers have repeatedly said, “Do not educate our sons, we have seen the consequences of education in Pakistan.”
Feroz Baloch, a hardworking student, met the same fate as many Baloch before him. Feroz was forcibly disappeared by law enforcement agencies in Rawalpindi, known as the heartland of Pakistan. The long journey of waiting has taken a toll on his family, his mother’s sleepless eyes and his father’s shattered spirit are testaments to the trauma. However, the resistance that runs through the nerves of the Baloch people will never cease until their last breath.
As a fellow student, we haven’t endured the same dungeon and circumstances as our beloved Feroz, but the trauma of his abduction has left an indelible mark on us. Every Baloch, whether directly or indirectly, is a victim of enforced disappearances and collective trauma. The pain of not knowing the whereabouts of a loved one for years, the uncertainty of their fate, is a collective punishment we endure.
Daily, we hear news of someone being killed or abducted, leaving scars that will never heal, a grim reminder of the enforced disappearances. Feroz, who once studied alongside us in the campus library, is no longer visible. Yet, a glimmer of hope remains that one day we’ll reunite with him, and the same library table will be a source of laughter when Feroz is back with us.