Baloch National Movement Briefs UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances in Geneva
A Baloch National Movement delegation met the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in Geneva on September 23, presenting a six-month rights report and a dossier on enforced disappearances in Balochistan compiled by the rights body Paank.
Photo by Hugo Magalhaes / Pexels
A delegation from the Baloch National Movement (BNM) met the chair of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in Geneva on September 23, 2026, and handed over documentation of what it describes as enforced disappearances in Balochistan.
What was presented, and to whom
The BNM delegation, led by chairman Naseem Baloch, met Grazyna Baranowska, chair-rapporteur of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID). The delegation handed over the BNM's latest six-month human rights report and a dossier on enforced disappearances compiled by the rights body Paank. The BNM said the dossier shows enforced disappearances that have left "many families devastated" and "homes deserted across the province."
The UN experts' statement on Imran Ali
Earlier in the month, UN human rights experts issued a statement expressing alarm over the alleged enforced disappearance and death of a Baloch student, Imran Ali, who they said had been taken by about 20 Counter-Terrorism Department personnel in late August 2025. The experts urged Pakistan to conduct a "prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial" investigation, to carry out independent forensic examinations and to return the body to his family with dignity. Build Better Pakistan has not independently verified the case details and relies here on the UN experts' public statement.
How the numbers compare
Different organizations tracking enforced disappearances report different totals, drawing on different methods and time periods. Pakistan's own official mechanism, the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, reported 2,752 cases from Balochistan and 3,485 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a report Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan submitted to the Supreme Court in January 2024. Paank publishes its own monthly counts; for February 2025 alone it recorded 134 enforced disappearances and 18 extrajudicial killings.
The court case two days earlier
The Geneva meeting came two days after an additional sessions judge in Quetta sentenced Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Gulzadi Baloch to life imprisonment in a 2022 murder case registered at Machh police station, a case we covered separately.
Build Better Pakistan's Rights Desk covers Balochistan's civil-rights and security dynamics as part of our ongoing coverage.
This article is part of our Rights & Justice coverage — Access to justice, courts and civil rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happened in Geneva on September 23?
- A Baloch National Movement (BNM) delegation led by chairman Naseem Baloch met Grazyna Baranowska, chair-rapporteur of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), and presented a six-month human rights report and a dossier on enforced disappearances in Balochistan prepared by the rights body Paank.
- How large is the documented caseload of enforced disappearances in Balochistan?
- Figures vary by organization and time period. Pakistan's official Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances listed 2,752 cases from Balochistan and 3,485 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a report submitted to the Supreme Court in January 2024.
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