A list of sixteen Baloch women reported to have gone missing over the past fourteen months has renewed alarm over enforced disappearances in the province, drawing a public appeal from Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal for transparent investigations and the women's safe return.

According to a list compiled and circulated by rights campaigners, the women disappeared between May 2025 and July 2026 ; most from towns across Balochistan, and some from Karachi and Islamabad. Their families, campaigners say, are still waiting for any official word on where they are.

The names on the circulated list are:

  • Mahjabeen Baloch — 29 May 2025, Quetta
  • Nasreen Baloch — 22 November 2025, Hub Chowki
  • Farzana Baloch — 1 December 2025, Khuzdar
  • Rahima Baloch — 9 December 2025, Dalbandin
  • Hair Nisa Baloch — 20 December 2025, Hub Chowki
  • Shakeela Baloch — 8 April 2026, Karachi
  • Gull Banuk Baloch — 14 April 2026, Singabad Karki, Kech
  • Haseena Baloch — 16 April 2026, Karachi
  • Khadija Baloch — 21 April 2026, Quetta
  • Zubaida Baloch — 29 April 2026, Tejaban, Kech
  • Zarnaaz Baloch — 29 April 2026, Tejaban, Kech
  • Habiba Baloch — 25 May 2026, Baldia Town, Karachi
  • Rizwana Baloch — 28 June 2026, Quetta
  • Rubina Baloch — 2 July 2026, Islamabad
  • Bibi Rafia Baloch — 21 July 2026, Mastung
  • Bibi Nida Baloch — 21 July 2026, Mastung

In a statement posted on the social media platform X, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, a former chief minister of Balochistan and a member of the National Assembly, addressed the growing distress of the affected families:

"The pain of families searching for their missing loved ones, especially their children, should never be overlooked. Every reported disappearance deserves a timely, transparent, and impartial investigation. Protecting the life, dignity, and rights of every citizen is a fundamental responsibility of the state. For families waiting for answers, every day of uncertainty is deeply painful. We stand with all those seeking truth, accountability, and the safe return of their loved ones."

Mengal has raised the issue of Balochistan's missing persons repeatedly over the years, both in parliament and in public. His party has previously made the recovery of missing persons a central political demand.

Rights groups say the disappearance of women marks a particularly troubling turn in a crisis that has long centred on men and young students. The Baloch Women Forum, in a statement issued last month, described enforced disappearances of women and children as among the gravest human rights concerns of the present era, arguing that when a mother disappears, an entire household and especially her young children is left in psychological and economic distress. International law, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, treats women and children as categories warranting special protection.

Pakistani authorities have consistently denied that state agencies are responsible for enforced disappearances, and official figures on missing persons remain disputed. Successive governments have pointed to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances as the forum for resolving individual cases, though families and rights bodies say the process has delivered few answers.

Campaigners maintain a simple demand: that anyone accused of an offence be produced before a court and tried under due process, rather than held without charge or acknowledgement. For the sixteen families on this list, that demand and the wait continues.

The Balochistan Dispatch reproduces names and dates as they appear in the list circulated by rights campaigners. Where independent corroboration exists, it has been attributed to the relevant organisation. This is a developing story.