Twenty-six people, including five young men from the same family, have allegedly been forcibly disappeared in Balochistan’s Kech district, while the recovery of four missing men’s bodies in Khuzdar, Kharan and Pasni has drawn condemnation from the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) and Paank.
Local sources said Pakistani military personnel and intelligence officials raided homes in Buleda’s Batt area on Tuesday night, subjected family members to violence and mistreatment, and detained five young men.
The men, who belong to the same extended family, were identified as Younus Khaliq, son of Abdul Khaliq; Mahboob Baloch, son of Abdul; Mujahid Baloch, son of Lala Hassan; Abdul Rahim, son of Abdul Wahid; and Balach Khan, son of Muhammad. They were taken to an undisclosed location, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
The raids followed a military operation in different parts of Kolwah last week, during which Pakistani forces reportedly detained dozens of people and transferred them to undisclosed locations. Twenty-one of those reported missing have so far been identified.
They include Sharpo, son of Karim Bakhsh; Karim Bakhsh, son of Maqsood; Akbar, son of Ghamgeen; Mussa and Saleh, both sons of Qadir Bakhsh; Wazir Ahmed, son of Noor Muhammad; and Noor Muhammad, son of Shukar.
Others were identified as Bilal and Basham, both sons of Nek Sal; Razi, son of Yousuf; Han Muhammad; Nawab; Aamad Ali, son of Bahot; Karim Ahmed, son of Wazir Ahmed; and Ismail, son of Noor Muhammad.
The remaining men were identified as Mahdi Karim, son of Allah Dad; Shehzad, son of Pando; Mubarak, son of Ghazi; Wahab, son of Mubarak; Zareeb, son of Abdal Teep; and Sajid, son of Nabi Bakhsh.
Their whereabouts remain unknown, while the identities of others reportedly detained during the operation have yet to be established.
Four Missing Men Found Dead
Meanwhile, the bodies of four people who had allegedly been forcibly disappeared, including a 17-year-old student, were recovered in Khuzdar, Kharan and Pasni.
The two men found dead in Khuzdar’s Naal area were identified as Ellahi Bakhsh, son of Rasool Bakhsh, and Muneer Ahmad, son of Sharif.
Local sources said Pakistani forces detained Ellahi Bakhsh from Naal Bazaar on October 30 and took him to an undisclosed location. Following his disappearance, forces raided his home and subjected family members to violence, detaining his brother and nephew.
Both were released the following day, but Ellahi Bakhsh remained missing until his body was recovered, the sources said.
Paank identified Ellahi Bakhsh as a mechanic from Sardari Bazaar, Naal, saying his bullet-riddled body was discovered in Istakhali village on November 3, four days after his disappearance.
The BYC said Muneer Ahmad, a 32-year-old driver from Istakhali, was taken from his home by members of a “death squad” at around 9 p.m. on October 2. His family received no information about his whereabouts during the following month.
On November 2, Muneer was killed and his body dumped in Naal Laghorzard, according to the BYC. Local sources said both Muneer and Ellahi Bakhsh had been tortured and shot dead.
In Kharan, the BYC and Paank reported the killing of Salahuddin, son of Muhammad Ali, a vegetable seller at Chief Chowk and resident of Kulan.
According to the organisations, Pakistani forces forcibly disappeared Salahuddin and his brother Azar from their home at around 2 p.m. on August 7. Azar was released several days later, while Salahuddin remained missing.
His body was recovered near Baddo Naddi in Zardain Koti on October 31. Both organisations alleged that he had been killed in a staged encounter, with Paank describing his body as mutilated.
The BYC also reported the killing of Reyan, son of Ulfath, a 17-year-old student from Ward No. 6 in Pasni.
The committee said members of a “death squad” forcibly disappeared Reyan from his home on October 14. His body was found dumped eight days later, on October 22, in the Kulanch area.
Reyan had not yet been issued a national identity card, the BYC said, adding that his family had waited for his safe return but instead received his body.
“Young students should be protected, not subjected to disappearance and violence,” it said.
BYC and Paank Condemn Killings
The BYC said enforced disappearances followed by killings presented as encounters reflected a disturbing pattern of human rights violations in Balochistan.
Holding people in unlawful custody, withholding information from their families and subsequently presenting their deaths as encounters violated the rule of law, the committee said, adding, “These practices deny victims their right to due process and deprive their families of truth and justice.”
The BYC demanded an urgent and impartial investigation into the killings.
“No individual should be forcibly taken from their home, held without legal protection, or deprived of their right to life,” the committee said.
Paank, the human rights department of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), also condemned the killings of Salahuddin and Ellahi Bakhsh.
In a statement on Ellahi Bakhsh, the organisation described such acts as “grave violations of fundamental human rights and the right to life”. It urged the United Nations and international human rights organisations to take urgent notice, while calling for an independent investigation into Salahuddin’s killing and for those responsible to be held accountable.