Baloch political and human rights groups have intensified international pressure on Pakistan, with activists staging a protest in the United Kingdom to highlight what they describe as a sharp rise in enforced disappearances of Baloch women by Pakistani security forces.

The protest was organised in Manchester by the Free Balochistan Movement (FBM), an organisation campaigning for the independence of Balochistan. Demonstrators held placards accusing Pakistani authorities of systemic repression and demanding accountability for the alleged abductions of women from Baloch communities.

Sharing images from the demonstration on social media platform X, the Free Balochistan Movement said there had been a “significant increase in state repression against Baloch women” over the past month. According to the group, women have been repeatedly abducted from their homes and subjected to enforced disappearances as part of a broader campaign of intimidation.

“In response to the repeated abduction and enforced disappearance of Baloch women, the Free Balochistan Movement organised a protest demonstration in the city of Manchester, United Kingdom,” the group stated, adding that such actions reflect a deepening human rights crisis in Pakistan’s largest but least developed province.

The Manchester protest is part of a growing international effort by Baloch activists to draw global attention to alleged abuses in Balochistan, where disappearances, extrajudicial detentions, and military operations have long been reported by rights groups.

Earlier this week, a Pakistan-based women’s rights platform, Khawateen Mahaz-e-Amal (Women’s Action Forum – WAF), expressed solidarity with Baloch women resisting state repression. In a statement, the forum endorsed demands for justice and called for the safe return of all Baloch civilians subjected to enforced disappearances.

WAF demanded the “release and honourable acquittal” of Baloch women and others who, it said, have been arbitrarily arrested and detained either without trial or through what it described as “blatantly unjust and non-transparent” legal proceedings. The forum also criticised the use of prolonged detention and closed trials as tools to suppress dissent.

Meanwhile, Baloch student organisations have issued even stronger warnings, describing the alleged disappearances of women as an unprecedented escalation in the conflict. Last week, the Baloch Students Organisation Azad said the targeting of women represents one of the most brutal phases of what it termed a campaign of genocide in Balochistan.

“The violation of Baloch traditions by Pakistani military institutions and the sexual violence against Baloch women are intolerable,” the organisation said in a statement. It alleged that women are forcibly disappeared as a form of collective punishment, subjected to torture, framed with false charges, and publicly humiliated through media trials.

The group further claimed that elderly and ill women have not been spared, alleging they are detained in harsh conditions and subjected to physical abuse. It also accused Pakistani forces of carrying out drone strikes and bombardments on civilian populations, justifying these actions under the banner of counterterrorism.

Baloch activists argue that international silence has emboldened Pakistani authorities and urged global human rights organisations, governments, and the United Nations to investigate alleged violations in the region.

As protests spread beyond Pakistan’s borders, Baloch groups say they will continue to raise the issue internationally until enforced disappearances end and accountability is ensured.