A woman was injured and multiple homes were damaged in separate armed attacks in Balochistan’s Kech and Panjgur districts, allegedly by state-backed armed militias, known throughout Balochistan as “death squads.”
In the Kech district’s Tump region, unidentified armed men targeted residential homes in the Konshkalat and Korjo areas during the night between June 15 and 16. The attackers reportedly used hand grenades, damaging water tanks and other household property. A woman, identified as Naeema, was injured and shifted to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. The homes of Shafiq s/o Dar Muhammad and Muhammad Hayat s/o Muhabbat were specifically targeted in the explosions.
In a separate incident, around 1:30 AM on June 13, armed men stormed the house of Nisar Ahmed in Chitkan City, Panjgur district. According to local sources, the attackers attempted to abduct Nisar Ahmed, but when he resisted, they assaulted him with rifle butts and opened fire, leaving him seriously injured.
Following the attack, Nisar Ahmed’s family approached local police stations to lodge an FIR. However, police at two separate stations reportedly refused to register the case, stating, “We can’t do anything.” The FIR was only registered the next day after the family returned to the station accompanied by the Mayor of Panjgur.
Local residents and activists allege that the individuals involved in both attacks are members of armed death squads, which they claim operate with the support or protection of state institutions. The term “death squad” has become widely used in Balochistan to refer to such groups accused of carrying out killings, abductions, torture, and intimidation of civilians, activists, and dissenting voices.
Nationalist circles argue that these groups are not only protected by state and military agencies but often operate with impunity, as seen in the Panjgur incident, where police initially refused to take legal action.
The incidents have added to the growing list of attacks attributed to these groups, which continue to draw condemnation from human rights defenders and political activists across the Balochsitan.