The Baloch National Movement’s (BNM) human rights chapter, PAANK, has released its October 2024 report, which draws attention to the alarming rise in human rights violations in Balochistan. The report details 110 enforced disappearances, six extrajudicial killings, and continued military aggression in various regions of Balochistan.
According to the PAANK report, these incidents primarily target Baloch students, political activists, human rights workers, and ordinary citizens. The report claims that the Pakistani security forces, intelligence agencies, and their affiliated local militias – known as ‘death squads’ – are directly involved in these human rights abuses. The report strongly condemns these actions, describing them as a part of a “deliberate campaign of violence” orchestrated by the Pakistani forces against the Baloch people. The report states that the current humanitarian crisis unfolding in Balochistan amounts to a “systematic genocide” that demands international intervention.
The report highlights that the disappearances occurred across 14 districts of Balochistan, as well as in Karachi and Punjab. The highest number of cases — 27 — were reported in Dera Bugti, where most of the victims were Baloch students abducted by military and intelligence agencies.
The PAANK report accused the Pakistani force and their affiliated ‘death squads’ of being directly involved in the six documented cases of extrajudicial killings. One such incident occurred on October 1, when a man identified as Pir Jan was shot dead by a military-backed ‘death squad’ in the main market of Panjgur. Another case on October 6 involved the killing of a man named Altaf in the Buleda tehsil of Kech district.
PAANK’s report also noted an escalation in military operations, particularly in Dera Bugti, Kech, and Barkhan. The report stated that in Dera Bugti, the Pakistani forces and their affiliated ‘death squad’, which calls itself ‘Aman Force’ (Peace Force), subjected the civilians in these areas to violence and forcefully displaced families from their homes.
The report also mentions the October 26 peaceful protest against enforced disappearances outside Karachi Press Club. Security forces used force to disperse the demonstrators, arresting several participants, including Baloch Yakjehti Committee leader Lala Wahab Baloch, who was later released by court order.
PAANK has condemned Pakistan’s actions and called on the international community to take immediate notice and investigate these war crimes, urging that the evidence is clear, and silence from the global community can no longer be justified.