At least seven people have allegedly been forcibly disappeared in Turbat, Kharan and Quetta in recent days, while five previously missing men have returned home, according to families and local sources.
Sources in Turbat said Pakistani forces detained a young nursing student in broad daylight on 15 January from outside a local hospital.
The missing youth was identified as Mehran Baloch, son of Baig Muhammad and a resident of Bal-Nigor. His family said he was taken to an undisclosed location and that no official information had been provided regarding the grounds for his detention.
In Kharan, residents reported that Pakistani forces have been conducting extensive cordon-and-search operations following a large-scale armed attack last week.
During a raid in the Dairy Farm area of Baloch Abad, Owais Ahmed Qambrani, son of Mahboob Qambrani, was detained along with his vehicle. His family said they had not been informed of his whereabouts.
Local sources said three other young men, Makhfar Abid Siyapad, Muneeb Siyapad, and Ahmed Siyapad, were also allegedly forcibly disappeared during ongoing operations in and around Kharan.
Reports of two additional detentions emerged from Quetta, where residents said Pakistani forces raided homes in the Killi Qambrani area and took away Abdul Qahar, son of Abdul Jabbar Qambrani, and Musawwir Qambrani, son of Afzal Qambrani. Their families said both men had since gone missing.
Meanwhile, families confirmed the return of five individuals previously reported missing from different districts.
In Tump, Kech district, Sagheer, son of Elahi Bakhsh; Salam, son of Khalid; and Fazail, son of Muhammad Rafiq — all of whom were allegedly disappeared on 7 January — returned home this week.
Separately, Munir, son of Jan Muhammad, who went missing on 13 January after reportedly being detained in Panwan, Jiwani (Gwadar district), returned home on 15 January, according to his family.
In Mastung district, the family of Amjad Ali, son of Muhammad Sultan, said he had been released in Quetta this week. He was allegedly taken into custody on 26 December 2025 from Dasht.
Human rights groups say enforced disappearances have been reported in Balochistan for years, but the number of cases has risen sharply in recent months.
In a preliminary annual analysis for 2025, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) said it documented 1,455 enforced disappearance cases during the year, including 1,443 men and 12 women.
Of these, 1,052 people remain missing, 317 were later released, 83 died in custody, and three were transferred to jail. The group said the figure represented a 75% increase compared with the previous year.