Balochistan continues to witness a rise in cases of enforced disappearances, custodial killings, and recovery of mutilated bodies, sparking serious concern among human rights groups and political activists.
In a fresh incident, the body of a young man, Mohammad Fahad Lehri, was recovered from the Mastung region ten days after Pakistani security forces allegedly abducted him. Muhammad Fahad, son of Muhammad Iqbal Lehri, had been missing since 4 May. The recovery of his body has cast a shadow of grief and anger over the region, with family members and human rights advocates expressing deep concern over the growing number of such incidents.
Reports indicate that 16 bodies have been discovered in Balochistan so far this month alone, including those of eight individuals who were reportedly forcibly disappeared. In one incident, a young man previously released after being subjected to enforced disappearance was killed in what is believed to be a targeted attack.
These bodies have been recovered from various districts including three each from Panjgur and Turbat, one from Khuzdar, and one from Mastung. This pattern points to a wider crisis unfolding across the region.
Simultaneously, six more individuals have been reportedly disappeared in the districts of Kalat and Sibi. In the Garap area of Kalat, five men were allegedly detained during a military operation and moved to an undisclosed location. Three of the victims have been identified as Jamaldin, Attaullah, and Latif. The identities of the remaining two are yet to be confirmed. Meanwhile, in Sibi, another man, Sadiq Khan, son of Abdul Sattar Khajak, was reportedly abducted by security personnel from his shop four days ago, with no subsequent information on his whereabouts.
In a separate incident, four individuals were abducted from Gwadar and Turbat. Shoaib, son of Rafiq, and Hafeez, son of Musa, were reportedly taken from the TTC Colony area in Gwadar by security forces. Additionally, in Turbat, two youths, Zareen Javed and Umar Iqbal, were abducted from Dashti Bazaar by unidentified armed men travelling in a white Toyota Surf. According to the families, the boys were inside a mobile phone shop when they were taken. The police were informed, and the victims’ motorcycle was later recovered, but no trace of the abductors and abductees has yet been found.
These developments come amid a broader pattern of increasing reports of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and deaths in custody throughout Balochistan in 2025. Political parties and civil society organisations have repeatedly condemned these practices and demanded that all forcibly disappeared individuals be presented before courts of law.
Meanwhile, key figures of the Baloch Yekjehti Committee, including Dr. Mahrang Baloch, remain incarcerated under the controversial 3MPO (Maintenance of Public Order) law. The Committee has been one of the most prominent voices highlighting the human rights violations in the region.