The Baloch Voice for Justice, a rights group, asserted that the killing of Naveed Baloch and the suicide of Akhlaq Baloch stem from the Pakistani state’s oppressive and genocidal policies against the Baloch people. The group called for unity among the Baloch nation to resist these state-sanctioned policies.
Akhlaq Baloch, an orphan on the brink of adulthood, reportedly faced enforced disappearance by Pakistani forces twice. Tragically, he took his own life in the Mullai Bazar area of Turbat, leaving authorities puzzled about the motive behind his act.
Naveed Baloch was abducted by a local ‘death squad’ from Hoshab in district Kech. His mutilated, bullet-riddled body was later discovered in district Panjgoor. The Baloch Voice for Justice emphasizes that Akhlaq and Naveed were not isolated cases. They link these deaths to a broader pattern of ‘Baloch genocide’ perpetuated by the state. Prior to Akhlaq, Chakar Baloch; Kharan resident Lateef Ullah Yalanzi and his wife; Awaran resident Najma Bibi; and Wadh resident Nazeer Ahmed also took their own lives. They were all tortured by the Pakistani state and left with scars that forced them to commit suicide.
The Baloch Voice for Justice said that the enforced disappearance of Naveed Baloch by a state-backed ‘death squad’ underscores the ongoing Baloch genocide. The group called for Baloch unity to counter the state institutions’ genocidal policies and safeguard Baloch youth from death squads.