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Quetta, Feb 25: As violence against civilians intensifies across Balochistan, a leading human rights organisation on Wednesday brought to light the extrajudicial killings of two civilians and the enforced disappearance of five others across the province, allegedly at the hands of Pakistani forces.
Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, mentioned that on Tuesday morning, personnel of Pakistan’s Frontier Corps (FC), Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), and intelligence agencies, accompanied by a state- backed death squad, raided a house in Khudabadan region in Panjgur district.
During the operation, three brothers and their nephew were forcibly disappeared, and hours later, one of them was extrajudicially killed.
The victims were identified as Owais Ahmed, Bakhteyar, Irfan and Bilal.
Citing reports, Paank stated that Owais Ahmed, the nephew, was severely tortured on Tuesday during the raid and sustained serious injuries.
Later in the day, it said, his mutilated body was recovered, bearing visible signs of torture, while the whereabouts of the three brothers remain unknown.
The rights body stated that on the same day, the Pakistani forces and a death squad raided a house in the same region, forcibly disappearing 23-year-old Hassan Khalil, a student at the University of Panjgur.
Highlighting the atrocities against Baloch civilians, Paank stated that the mutilated body of 26-year-old Taimoor was found dumped in the Surab district of Balochistan on February 20, after being forcibly disappeared by the FC on February 9.
Paank further mentioned that Imdad Baloch, a resident of Turbat city in Kech district of the province, was forcibly disappeared from his home during a late-night raid carried out by the Pakistan Army and CTD on February 24. He worked at a bookshop located in the Shaheed Fida Chowk area in Turbat.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) expressed grave concern over the “ongoing harassment, racial profiling, discrimination, and threats” against Baloch students across Pakistan, including at Punjab University.
“Baloch students face identity-based targeting, enforced disappearances, and intensified profiling,” the rights body stated.
It noted that on February 23, a senior student was harassed in his hostel room, filmed, and threatened by Pakistani intelligence agencies.
The HRCB called for an independent investigation, accountability, and full protection of Baloch students’ rights and safety across Pakistan.
--IANS