Pakistani forces have reportedly killed two individuals, including a woman, and critically injured another during a late-night raid in the Awaran district of Balochistan. Local sources alleged the raid was an attempt to forcibly disappear a youth.
The raid took place around 1:00 AM on Tuesday in the Malaar Machhi area of Awaran. According to witnesses, army personnel raided a house and opened fire when family members resisted the arrest of a young man.
Naeem Baloch, son of Sanjar Baloch, and an elderly woman, Hoori Baloch, were killed on the spot. Naeem’s mother, Dadi Baloch, was critically injured.
Sources allege that the injured woman was denied immediate medical treatment and remained without assistance overnight. She was only taken to Awaran District Hospital the following morning. Her condition had severely worsened by the time she received medical care.
The Baloch Women Forum (BWF) strongly condemned the alleged extrajudicial killings and announced a district-wide shutter-down strike in Awaran on 28 May. In a statement, the BWF said law enforcement agencies conducted the operation without legal justification and opened indiscriminate fire, killing Naeem Baloch and Hoori Baloch and injuring Dadi Baloch.
The Forum said grieving relatives and local residents carried the bodies to Awaran city and staged a protest demanding justice.
It described the pattern of killings in Awaran as “extremely alarming and reprehensible,” noting that this is the fifth such incident reported in the district within a week.
The Forum accused state institutions of committing “genocide against the Baloch people.” It said security agencies have been given “free rein and are using force indiscriminately in Baloch areas.”
Expressing solidarity with the victims’ families, the BWF called on national and international bodies to take notice of the situation and raise their voices against “state repression.” It urged the people of Awaran to participate in the 28 May strike and stand in solidarity with the affected families.
This incident is the latest in a string of violent raids in the Malaar area by Pakistani forces. Human rights groups say a total of five civilians have been killed in Awaran in the past week alone, describing the situation as part of a troubling pattern of extrajudicial killings by Pakistani forces.
Local activists and residents have condemned the killings and called for an independent investigation. The Pakistani military has not yet issued an official statement on the raid.
Incidents of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings have been a longstanding issue in Balochistan. Rights groups report a recent surge in such cases, often linked to Pakistani security forces, including the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).