The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed that six armed individuals were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Barkhan, while all security personnel remained unharmed during an exchange of fire.
According to CTD officials, the operation was carried out following confidential intelligence reports indicating the presence of armed suspects in the area. Authorities said a gun battle erupted during the raid, resulting in the deaths of six individuals. The bodies were later shifted to Rakhni Hospital.
However, subsequent identifications have raised questions about the official account. Local sources in Barkhan said three of the deceased have been identified as Baloch missing persons. They have been identified as Akbar s/o Nawab Khan Domki; Budha s/o Muhammad Murad Lashari; and Makhan s/o Mureed Lashari. Family members and rights groups say the men had previously been subjected to enforced disappearance.
Akbar Domki had earlier gone missing in 2022 along with his brother, Yousaf. His brother was later killed in what authorities described as a police encounter in Notal, Nasirabad. The organization Voice for Baloch Missing Persons confirmed in October 2022 that both brothers had been victims of enforced disappearance. According to relatives, Akbar was again forcibly disappeared in January 2024 from Jhal Magsi before his reported killing in the latest operation.
Three additional bodies brought to Rakhni Hospital remain unidentified, though local observers have expressed concern that they may also belong to individuals previously reported missing.
The incident comes amid a series of similar operations in recent days. Earlier, CTD claimed eight individuals were killed in a separate encounter in Quetta, while authorities in Karachi reported the killing of several suspects in operations that families later alleged involved individuals already in custody.
Human rights organizations and local analysts have long questioned multiple CTD operations, arguing that past incidents described as armed encounters were later linked to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Observers say the latest events in Barkhan, Quetta, and Karachi have once again intensified scrutiny of security operations.
Legal experts and rights committees have warned that such incidents, if verified, could violate both domestic law and international human rights obligations, including Articles 6 and 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protect the right to life and safeguards against arbitrary detention.
Reports indicate that at least 18 individuals have been killed in alleged encounters over the past two days across different cities, further fueling concerns among civil society groups.
In Karachi’s Malir area, relatives of four men killed in a recent encounter staged a protest outside the press club, asserting that the victims had already been in state custody prior to their deaths.