Balochistan rights body alarmed over wave of enforced disappearances by Pakistani forces

Quetta, June 14 (IANS) A Baloch human rights body on Saturday strongly condemned the ongoing wave of enforced disappearances across Balochistan, where civilians are being abducted by Pakistani security forces with complete impunity.

Baloch National Movement’s Human Rights Department, Paank, revealed that on June 11, Dil Jan, son of Basheer Ahmed and a resident of Turbat in the province of Balochistan, was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani security forces at the Ormara check post in Gwadar district of the province.

“On June 13, 2025, Abid Aziz, son of Abdul Aziz, a resident of Balina Khattan area of Khuzdar and a second-semester law student at the University of Balochistan, was abducted by law enforcement agencies while returning home from the university library,” read a statement issued by the rights body on Saturday.

According to a report by Paank, there were as many as 128 cases of enforced disappearances from Balochistan in May. In the same month, 35 people were released after mental and physical torture across Balochistan.

The report revealed that multiple cases of enforced disappearances and illegal detentions were reported across 15 districts of Balochistan, including 10 cases of enforced disappearances from Karachi, Sindh.

The rights body highlighted that Gwadar and Kech district of Balochistan have recorded the highest number of incidents of forced disappearance.

“On May 13, Bakhshullah, son of Wahid Bakhsh, a resident of Maksar in the Dasht tehsil of Kech district, was forcibly taken from his home by Pakistani security forces. On the same day, Shah Bakhsh, son of Ismail Mouki and also a resident of Maksar, Dasht tehsil, Kech district, was abducted from his residence during another raid conducted by state forces,” Paank stated on Saturday.

Paank in its report highlighted that in May, death squads operating under the auspices of the Pakistani security forces attacked two different homes in tehsil Tump area in Kech district of Balochistan with hand grenades, resulting in the injury of innocent children and women and leaving them in extreme fear and terror.

The report further documented the alarming human rights violations occurring in Balochistan, with a particular focus on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. The cases revealed a consistent pattern of state-led repression, unlawful detentions, and targeted executions by Pakistani security forces.

Expressing concern, the rights body stated that the repeated incidents are part of a disturbing and systematic pattern of state violence in Balochistan targeting students, civilians, and entire communities.

“Despite repeated appeals from international human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, as well as findings and urgent calls by United Nations experts, the Pakistani state continues to disregard basic human rights in Balochistan. These warnings have failed to halt the wave of state-sponsored oppression. Enforced disappearances remain alarmingly high, with individuals taken without warrants, held incommunicado, and often subjected to torture. The families of the missing are left without answers or recourse to justice, living in constant fear and uncertainty,” the rights body said.

–IANS

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