Baloch civilian killed, two allegedly disappeared by Pak forces

Quetta, March 5:  As violence against civilians continues unabated in Balochistan, a leading human rights organisation on Thursday brought to light the extrajudicial killing of another civilian and the enforced disappearance of two others across the province, allegedly at the hands of Pakistani forces.

These latest incidents come against the backdrop of a growing wave of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances across the province.

Paank, the Baloch National Movement’s Human Rights Department, mentioned that the bullet-riddled body of Fateh Baloch was dumped in the Mashkai region of Awaran district on Wednesday, nearly two months after being forcibly disappeared.

According to the rights body, Fateh Baloch, a driver by profession, was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces on January 13, after being stopped at the Frontier Corps (FC) checkpoint while travelling with passengers.

“Fateh was a pickup driver and the sole breadwinner of his family. His abduction was carried out without any warrant, charges, or legal justification, leaving his family in anguish and uncertainty about his fate. For weeks, his whereabouts remained unknown. His family repeatedly sought information about him but received no response from the authorities. They lived in constant fear, hoping for his safe return,” Paank stated.

Condemning the incident, the rights body said that the circumstances surrounding Fateh’s death “indicate a clear case of extrajudicial killing”.

His body bore marks of violence, raising serious concerns about “unlawful detention, torture, and the ongoing pattern of enforced disappearances” in Balochistan.

Highlighting the atrocities against civilians, Paank revealed that Minwar Akhtar, a resident of the Absar area in Turbat city of Kech district, was forcibly taken from his home on Wednesday night by Pakistani security forces.

In a separate incident, Zameer Ahmed, resident of the Taar office area in Panjgur district, was subjected to enforced disappearance on March 3, at the hands of Pakistani military intelligence.

On Wednesday, the human rights body Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) highlighted that one more Baloch civilian was extrajudicially killed by Pakistani forces in Balochistan.

The rights body revealed that the dead body of 17-year-old Yahya Baloch was discovered in FC Camp at Panjgur district on March 3.

It added that he was extrajudicially killed hours after being abducted from his home by a Pakistan-backed death squad along with FC personnel.

The BYC noted that Yahya’s disappearance, followed by his brutal death, reflects a recurring pattern in which individuals are taken from their homes, later killed, and their bodies dumped.

“The continued recovery of bodies in Balochistan shows the seriousness of the ongoing crisis. Families are left grieving, without answers, and without access to justice. The international community, human rights organisations, and legal institutions must urgently demand accountability to end enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan,” the BYC stated.

--IANS