On November 2, 2025, the Pakistani Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) detained and forcibly disappeared Muhammad Ashraf, a student at Ghazi University.

During a late-night raid on a residence in the Baloch Colony neighborhood, CTD officials arrested Ashraf and transported him to an undisclosed location. Authorities did not provide details regarding his detention or potential charges. As of this writing, there was no publicly available information regarding Ashraf’s whereabouts or condition.

This incident follows a period of targeted pressure on Ashraf’s family. Before his abduction, security forces had raided his family home and interrogated relatives concerning their connection to Rasheed Buzdar, a member of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) who was killed in a confrontation with Pakistani forces in 2025.

The abduction follows a pattern of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch activists, professionals, journalists, and students, often carried out by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies, army, or Frontier Corps. Students are among the most commonly targeted of these groups.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the enforced disappearance of a university student. While state security forces have a responsibility to maintain security and safety, they must also respect international human rights standards, including by refraining from discriminatory actions against students based on their identities. In addition to harm to the immediate victims, the disappearance of students undermines academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/3695946-unresolved-disappearances-fuel-tensions-in-balochistan
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/baloch-student-allegedly-detained-by-paks-ctd-in-dera-ghazi-khan-amid-rising-protests-over-enforced-disappearances/