The body of a young man who was allegedly detained by Pakistani armed forces has been found in Balochistan’s Kech district, in what human rights activists and residents say is another case of custodial killing amid a continuing wave of enforced disappearances followed by the recovery of bodies across the region.
The victim, identified as Naseem, son of Qadir Bakhsh and a resident of Hoshap, was reportedly taken from his home around 2 a.m. on Saturday by Pakistani armed forces accompanied by members of a local “death squad.”
Family members said Naseem was taken alive and later found dead in a deserted area near Hoshap the following morning. “He was tortured to death while in custody and his body was dumped,” a relative said.
Human rights groups have long documented cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan, where thousands of people have allegedly been detained by Pakistani armed forces and state-backed militias and later found dead.
Earlier this week, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) reported a series of similar cases in Kech, identifying four men who were allegedly abducted and killed by state-backed militias between 28 October and 2 November. The BYC described the killings as part of a “kill-and-dump policy” carried out with impunity across Balochistan.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Amnesty International have repeatedly called for independent investigations into such incidents, warning that a persistent culture of impunity is deepening alienation and instability in Balochistan.
In a video statement on Friday, Dr Sabiha Baloch, a senior leader of the BYC, accused the state of intensifying its policies of enforced disappearances and targeted killings. She said that “people in Awaran are being summoned daily to military camps and later found dead, while in Makuran several civilians have been killed by state-backed death squads.”
Dr Baloch called on the Baloch public to “rise up and speak out against the ongoing genocide in Balochistan,” warning that silence would only enable further atrocities.