The Human Rights Department of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), Paank, released its monthly report for May 2025, documenting a surge in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan allegedly carried out by Pakistani forces and affiliated groups.
According to the report, at least 128 individuals were forcibly disappeared and 27 were killed in incidents linked to Pakistan’s military, intelligence agencies, and pro-state armed groups, locally known as “death squads.” The highest number of enforced disappearances was reported in Gwadar, where 32 cases were recorded. Other districts with high numbers included Kech (27), Karachi (10), Awaran (9), Quetta (8), Panjgur and Mastung (7 each), Chagai (5), Nushki (6), Dera Bugti (4), Musakhel, Kalat, and Khuzdar (3 each), Barkhan and Harnai (2 each), and Washuk (1).
The report describes May as one of the deadliest months in terms of extrajudicial killings. Victims were allegedly abducted and later found dead, including 15-year-old Ali Baloch, who was allegedly executed by a “death squad” in Kech. In Panjgur, a young Baloch man identified as Samir Ahmed was taken away on 1 May and was found dead 8 days later. Similarly, another young man, Waheed Baloch, was picked up from Panjgur and his bullet-riddled body was found the next day. A Baloch journalist, Abdul Latif Baloch, was reportedly killed while sleeping at his home.
The organization also listed high-profile incidents, such as the recovery of the mutilated body of Fahad Lehri in Quetta on May 13 and the killing of Bakhtiyar Ahmed in Kalat, who had reportedly spoken out against military operations.
Other named victims included Sufi Tariq, Younis Baloch, Muhammad Ramzan (missing since 2014), and several individuals, including Sajid Baloch, Yasir Baloch, Haneef Aziz, and Ghous Bakhsh, allegedly abducted from their homes and executed. Three men – Abdul Rehman Buzdar, Fareed Buzdar, and Sultan Marri – were reportedly abducted by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and killed in a staged encounter in Barkhan.
The report further highlights the killing of two civilians, Naeem Baloch and Hori Baloch, the latter a woman, and the wounding of another woman during military operations in Awaran’s Machi Malar area on May 26–27, and the deaths of multiple others in Kech and Chagai in the final days of the month. Sher Khan Khetran was taken away on May 22 and his dead body was recovered on May 28. Similarly, Darman Baloch, who had been forcibly disappeared twice already, was found dead on May 30 in Jhao. In Turbat, Musafir Baloch, a local driver, was killed alongside Nazar Baloch and Abdul Aziz, and Levies official Sagheer Ahmad was found dead the next day.
Paank concluded that the pattern of violence represents an alarming trend of unchecked abuse, with state forces and allied militias targeting civilians, students, activists, journalists, and even government employees. It characterized these actions as collective punishment aimed at spreading fear and enforcing silence.
The report called on the international community to urgently intervene and hold Pakistan accountable for what it described as systematic and dangerous violations of human rights in Balochistan.