In an incident reported in Turbat, Balochistan, three young men who were reportedly killed earlier this month in a clash with Pakistani forces were allegedly buried in secrecy during the night by security personnel, without the knowledge or participation of their families.
According to local reports and the affected families, the bodies of the deceased were silently interred in Turbat’s Taleemi Chowk cemetery under the cover of darkness, without proper Islamic funeral rites or shrouds (kafan). Authorities reportedly did not allow family members to attend the burial or perform the traditional last rites.
Family members expressed their deep anguish, stating that they were kept in limbo for three days by police and relevant officials who offered no meaningful cooperation. They further alleged that the burial was conducted in a manner that disregarded religious and cultural practices, causing profound emotional trauma to the families.
In protest of the authorities’ refusal to hand over the bodies, a large number of women, children, and other citizens staged a sit-in on the main highway. The demonstrators demanded that the bodies be returned so that proper burials could be conducted. Despite the public outcry, the authorities didn’t hand over the bodies for several days, prompting the families to end their protest and perform absentee funeral prayers eventually.
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“Police authorities are not allowing exhumation or final religious rites. For the past three days, the families have been made to wait without any cooperation. The bodies were buried without shrouds or proper rites – Families.”
The incident has reignited concerns over human rights violations and the treatment of civilians in conflict-affected areas of Balochistan. Calls for independent investigations and accountability continue to grow amid increasing reports of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial actions in the region.