The body of a missing person has been recovered from Kech, Balochistan, raising fresh concerns about extrajudicial killings in the region. The deceased has been identified as Shabeer Ahmed, a resident of Gwadar, who was forcibly reportedly disappeared in May 2024. Ahmed was later declared arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and then-Provincial Interior Minister Zia Langove during a press conference in Quetta, where he was accused of links to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
Ahmed’s tortured body was found on November 22, a day after the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) claimed in a statement that four individuals had been killed during operations in Awaran, Kech, and Dera Bugti. Human rights organizations have frequently criticized such operations, alleging that forcibly disappeared individuals are often killed and presented as militants killed in encounters.
The latest incident has drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups and political organizations. Amnesty International has previously condemned such actions, calling for an end to the extrajudicial killings of detainees and demanding thorough investigations to hold perpetrators accountable.
Adding to the condemnation, the Haq Do Tehreek, a political movement in Balochistan, issued a statement strongly denouncing Ahmed’s death. The group accused the CTD of being complicit in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, noting that Ahmed had been in CTD custody, according to the department’s own press release. Despite this, his tortured body was found, a development the movement described as “deeply alarming.”
The Haq Do Tehreek further alleged that the CTD had illegally handed Ahmed over to another security agency, who then staged his escape to justify his killing. The organization warned that if an impartial investigation into Ahmed’s death is not conducted, they would launch a campaign to expose the CTD’s actions and bring the truth to light.
This case is not an isolated incident in Balochistan, where allegations of staged encounters involving forcibly disappeared individuals have become increasingly common. Earlier this month, the CTD claimed to have killed four individuals in an encounter in Musakhel, all of whom were later identified as previously missing persons.