Family members of two young men allegedly subjected to enforced disappearance and later killed in custody by Pakistani forces are holding a peaceful protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Turbat, the main city of Balochistan’s Kech district.
According to the families, 20-year-old Saifullah was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces on April 20, 2025. On April 23, his family members formally reported his disappearance to the Deputy Commissioner of Kech, but received no response. When they contacted the office again on June 13, they were told Saifullah had been killed in an alleged armed clash on April 29 and had already been buried. However, officials did not disclose the location of the grave.
In a similar case, Shahjahan was detained by Pakistani forces on April 14, 2025. His family had no information about his whereabouts for nearly two months. On June 13, they were informed that Shahjahan had also been killed in a reported encounter and buried without notification to the family or disclosure of the burial site.
Both families have rejected the state’s version of events, claiming that the two young men were held in state custody following their enforced disappearance and were extrajudicially killed.
Local residents have joined the families in a peaceful protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office, demanding that the authorities reveal the burial sites and provide details about the circumstances of the deaths.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee condemned the killings, describing them as part of an ongoing campaign of Baloch genocide. The group expressed solidarity with the families and reiterated the urgent need for transparency and accountability regarding enforced disappearances and custodial deaths in Balochistan.