KARACHI: It was revealed on Monday that eight students, all from Balochistan, had vanished from their shared home in Gulistan-i-Jauhar. Their relatives said the children had been “taken away” by law enforcement.
Police, nevertheless, declined to address the claims.
On October 16, the following students went missing: Bebarg Ameer, son of Ameer Baksh; Zubair, son of Karim Bakhsh; Qambar Ali, son of Misqan; Ishfaq, son of Khaliqdad; Shahzad, son of Khalid; Shoaib Ali, son of Bakhtiar; Haneef, son of Badal; and Saeedullah, son of Dur Muhammad.
One is an intermediate student, one attends Urdu University, and three are students at Karachi University, along with numerous seminary students.
Their families claim that on October 16, police enforcement removed them from their joint Rustam Zikri Goth apartment.
The older brother of the missing Qambar Ali, Wazir Ahmed, told Dawn that while his brother was attending coaching sessions at a tuition academy close to Nipa, Qambar was an intermediate student in Mashkey, Awaran.
He claimed that on October 17, he and the families of a few other missing pupils went to the Aziz Bhatti police, but the SHO declined to file a case.
Mr. Ahmed and the families of a few other students made it plain that they were not affiliated with any political party and were not engaged in any questionable conduct.
They insisted on the immediate release of the missing kids.
Dawn reached out to SSP-East Dr Farrukh Raza to get his account of events on the purported disappearances, but he never responded.
Dr. Riaz Ahmed, a member of the KU syndicate, called for the students’ release in the meanwhile, stating: “It is appalling that university students are apprehended and disappear without charge.” It is inappropriate to subject students to the harsh realities of the state at this young age.
