The body of Musawir Khan Kakar, a minor who was abducted last year from Quetta, has been recovered from the Isplinji area of Mastung district in Balochistan. According to sources, the body was found in a severely decomposed and mutilated state.
The remains have been handed over to the family, and burial rites have already been performed. However, the family said that final confirmation of the child’s identity depends on the results of a DNA test.
Sources close to the Kakar family said they were informed by government officials that a photograph of a bloodied child had been recovered from the mobile phone of a slain militant during a recent security operation. The image’s metadata reportedly led security forces to conduct a raid in Isplinji, where the body was discovered.
Speaking at a press conference alongside a provincial government spokesperson, Deputy Inspector General Aitzaz Ahmed Goraya said the proscribed terrorist group ISIS was behind the abduction. He alleged that of the three people involved, two were Afghan nationals.
Goraya claimed that the child was killed during a raid on an ISIS hideout located in a house in Isplinji. The body was recovered on 23 June and taken to a hospital, where DNA samples were collected. Authorities say preliminary results have confirmed the identity of the child as Musawir Khan Kakar.
Officials also claimed that ISIS had demanded a ransom of $12 million for the boy’s release.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind expressed deep regret over the failure to safely recover the child despite extensive efforts. “The child’s parents fully cooperated with the authorities throughout the investigation,” he said.
Last year, a complete strike was observed across Quetta as protests intensified following the kidnapping of the 10-year-old boy. Rind added that damage had been caused to the city’s CCTV infrastructure during the protests.
It is worth noting that ISIS had previously claimed responsibility for Musawir’s abduction and had issued ransom demands through encrypted online platforms.
The boy’s family said the last communication with the abductors occurred during the month of Ramadan in 2024. After that, there had been no further contact or trace of the child until the recent discovery.