A 30-year-old Baloch man was shot dead in Kech’s Nasirabad area on Saturday, in what the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) alleged was an attack carried out by a “state-backed death squad.”
The group said the victim, identified as Jalal-ud-Din Baloch, son of Deen Muhammad and employed as a driver, was cleaning a vehicle at a service station when armed, masked men on a motorcycle opened fire, killing him on the spot.
Residents told the BYC that Jalal-ud-Din’s two brothers had previously been taken into custody by Pakistani forces. One brother, Diljan, was released after several days, while the other, Kamal, remains forcibly disappeared with no information about his condition or whereabouts.
According to BYC and local sources, the gunmen involved in Saturday’s attack were linked to a “state-backed death squad” accused by Baloch rights groups of carrying out extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and targeted attacks across the region. These groups allegedly operate alongside Pakistani armed forces to suppress dissent and silence Baloch civilians, the BYC said.
The organisation said the killing “reflects a continuing pattern of state violence” in Balochistan, where civilians face enforced disappearance, torture and targeted attacks, while those responsible “enjoy complete impunity.”
Pakistani authorities have not issued any public statement regarding the allegations.