ISLAMABAD: The senior journalist Hamid Mir has resumed a sensitive and contentious debate surrounding enforced disappearances in Balochistan. Mir claimed that a woman, Zarina Marri, was allegedly abducted in 2005 from Kohlu, where she was working as a teacher, and subsequently shifted with her infant child to a detention centre in Karachi. As per his own views, her case remains unresolved even after two decades.
Furthermore, Balochistan’s Minister for Education, Raheela Durrani, dismissed the claim in a press conference.
She further explained that since a specific school, Government Middle School, Kohan was mentioned, her department conducted a thorough investigation.
Several findings revealed that no woman named Zarina Marri had ever been employed there, nor was her name found in any education department records across Kohlu. Instead, officials identified a teacher named Zarina Nargis, whose employment records and salary slips were presented as evidence.
In addition to this, Principal Taj Muhammad Marri of Government Model High School, Kohlu, also confirmed that no teacher by the name of Zarina Marri had ever worked in the district.
Moreover, the controversy mentions a broader issue: the responsibility of journalists when reporting on highly sensitive matters. So far, enforced disappearances remain a serious human rights concern in Pakistan, experts stress that claims of this nature must be backed by concrete evidence.
Also Read: Zarina Marri disppearance claims’ fabricated, Meena Majeed
Meanwhile, on social media, Zarina Marri’s name was quickly linked with broader propaganda narratives, raising concerns about how unverified claims are weaponised. Provincial Sports Minister Meena Majeed termed the controversy a “coordinated propaganda campaign.”
