KARACHI: Eight students, all hailing from Balochistan, had gone missing from their shared residence in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and their family members alleged that they were “taken away” by law enforcement agencies, it emerged on Monday.

However, police refused to comment on the allegations.

The students — Shoaib Ali, son of Bakhtiar; Haneef, son of Badal; Ishfaq, son of Khaliqdad; Shahzad, son of Khalid; Bebarg Ameer, son of Ameer Baksh; Zubair, son of Karim Bakhsh; Qambar Ali, son of Misqan and Saeedullah, son of Dur Muhammad — had gone missing on Oct 16.

Three of them are student of Karachi University, as many of a seminary, one is an intermediate student and another studies at Urdu University.

According to their families, they were picked up by law enforcers on Oct 16 from their shared residence in Rustam Zikri Goth.

Talking to Dawn, Wazir Ahmed, elder brother of missing Qambar Ali, said: “Qambar is an intermediate student in Mashkey, Awaran but he was taking coaching classes at a tuition academy near Nipa.”

He said he, along with family members of some other missing students, had approached the Aziz Bhatti police on Oct 17, but the SHO refused to lodge their report.

Mr Ahmed, as well as relatives of some other students, made it clear that they had no association with any political group and were not involved in any kind of suspicious activity.

They demanded that the missing students be released forthwith.

SSP-East Dr Farrukh Raza did not reply to Dawn’s attempt to seek his version about the alleged disappearances.

Meanwhile, KU syndicate member Dr Riaz Ahmed demanded release of the students, saying: “It is horrifying that students of universities are apprehended and disappeared without charge. Students at this young age should not be exposed to the hard face of the state.”

Published in Dawn, October 22th, 2024