Mothers of Balochistan: A Struggle for the Missing**

In Balochistan, Pakistan, thousands of women like Saira Baloch and Jannat Bibi are caught in the heart-wrenching reality of searching for relatives forcibly taken by security forces. Amid protests and the faces of grief, these mothers and daughters seek answers and justice for their missing men, confronting a narrative woven with despair and a plea for recognition.**

Amid the glaring silence of a morgue in Balochistan, women like Saira Baloch sift through rows of unclaimed bodies in search of their loved ones—brothers, sons, and fathers—disappeared under enigmatic circumstances. Saira, forever tinged with the memories of her brother Muhammad Asif Baloch, who vanished in a counter-terrorism operation in 2018, was only 15 when she first entered a morgue. She recalls the terror and disbelief that washed over her as she laid eyes on the corpses, wondering if she would ever find Muhammad among them. Seven years later, her grief has turned into a heartbreaking ritual of visiting morgues, as she hopes for answers that remain elusive.

Saira is not isolated in her sorrow; she represents thousands of women across Balochistan whose lives have been irrevocably altered by the enforced disappearances of men allegedly taken by Pakistan's security forces. Activists assert that over two decades, countless ethnic Baloch have vanished from their communities—victims of a conflict marked by allegations of unlawful detention and brutal repression. The prevailing response from the government is a denial of systematic forced disappearances, dismissing claims as exaggerated while asserting that many missing individuals have either joined separatist factions or sought refuge abroad.

Every loss reshapes the lives of those left behind. Women gather in ongoing protests, their faces etched with grief as they display fading photographs of the men they once knew. With each knock on the door, Saira allows herself a moment of hope, recalling the day Muhammad disappeared—seeking to celebrate her academic achievements with him, only to be met with unending silence.

The region of Balochistan is vast and rich in resources like gas and coal yet remains mired in poverty and neglect, reflecting a disconnect between the wealth derived from its land and the welfare of its people. Challenges abound, with a lack of infrastructure and education leading many youth to dream of escape—be it to Karachi or beyond—fleeing from a place where despair seems to define their existence.

The historical context of Balochistan’s integration into Pakistan is rife with tension, as bonds of tribal leadership grapple with the quest for autonomy against a backdrop of military operations intended to quell insurgencies. Recent escalations, such as the hijacking of a train by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) demanding the release of missing individuals, underscore the volatile landscape of a region caught between silence and survival.

For the women resolutely continuing their search, the pain is compounded by the similarities in their stories. Jannat Bibi, who has sought her son Nazar Muhammad for over a decade, refuses to be silenced by the weight of rejection. In shared despair, she fosters a spirit of dissent, believing that “silence is not an option.” The disappearance of their loved ones nourishes a movement characterized by demands for justice, empowerment, and recognition.

The specter of lost lives haunts mothers like Mahrang Baloch, who actively lead protests against enforced disappearances, paralyzed by fear yet propelled into action by love for their kin. Among the new generation, young girls like Masooma cling to the hope of seeing their fathers return, despite never having known them outside of memories and whispers of their absence. Each day, Masooma writes letters to her father—missives filled with yearning echoing across the divide of time and silence.

As the struggle for justice and the quest for answers continues in crowded protest camps across Balochistan, a shared determination emerges: that no mother should endure the loss of her child to faceless perpetrators, that the future must not repeat the tragedies of the past. The cry for dignity and recognition resonates in the hearts of these women, transcending the confines of a troubled province, yearning for a resolution to a crisis rooted in their very identities.