Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said it killed two men in an operation in Surab, Balochistan, allegedly aimed at preventing an attack on installations in Khuzdar.
According to CTD officials, the men, identified as Bar Jan from Mashkay and Abdul Khaliq from Surab, were killed following what they described as an exchange of gunfire. The CTD alleged that both men had been involved in previous attacks in the Kalat region.
During the operation, the CTD said weapons and explosives were recovered, including an SMG rifle, C4 explosives, a magnetic IED, a fire control system, two remote-control devices, a hand grenade, a motorcycle, and mobile phones.
It should be noted that Human rights groups and families of victims have raised concerns about CTD operations, alleging that previously detained or forcibly disappeared individuals are often killed in what they refer to as “fake encounters.”
Last week, the CTD announced an operation on the national highway near Rarasham, Musa Khel, claiming that CTD and Frontier Corps personnel had engaged in a firefight with “terrorists” allegedly attempting to blockade the highway. According to CTD officials, three individuals were killed in the shootout, two were arrested, and multiple weapons were seized.
However, the individuals killed in the Musa Khel operation were later identified by family members as Muhammad Nawaz Buzdar, Ghulam Buzdar, and Jafar Marri, all of whom had reportedly been previously forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces.
Related: Balochistan: Four ‘Missing’ Persons Killed in ‘Fake Encounter’ by CTD
Human rights organizations have consistently called on Pakistani authorities to investigate these alleged extrajudicial killings and prosecute those responsible. Despite these calls, reports of “fake encounters” involving Baloch missing persons continue.