In an incident in the Tehsil Wadh area of the Khuzdar district, local school teacher, Javed Lehri, was reportedly murdered outside his residence on Monday morning, allegedly by individuals linked to a state-backed “death squad”.
Sources on the ground state that Lehri had noticed some individuals, believed to be members of a locally known “death squad”, installing potentially explosive materials near his residence. It is alleged that Lehri was tracking the actions of these individuals before he was tragically targeted. However, these claims are currently unverified.
The locality has become accustomed to such acts of violence, signaling that a pervasive climate of fear and instability has reigned in the region for several months now. The daily loss of life and property seems to have become a harrowing norm, with government and state institutions seemingly turning a blind eye to the ongoing crisis, locals told the media.
The death of Javed Lehri, who was known as a respected figure in the community due to his role as an educator, has shed light once again on the volatile situation in Wadh, where inhabitants feel trapped in a cycle of instability and violence. This incident has also refocused attention on the persistent allegations concerning the involvement of “state-sponsored death squads” in Balochistan.
It’s noteworthy that Baloch nationalists have repeatedly accused the Pakistani army of facilitating the formation of death squads across Balochistan, implicating them in numerous human rights violations, including targeted killings and forced disappearances. These groups supposedly operate with significant immunity, a claim that is often refuted by official sources.