Baloch human rights body raises concern on escalating enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee brought to attention the escalating cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan, highlighting the recent incident of security forces abducting local shopkeepers in Khuzdar.

In a post on X, BYC said, “After the Incident in Zehri tehsil of Khuzdar, the security forces have forcibly abducted three local shopkeepers with their whereabouts unknown.”

It noted that fearing for their safety, the victim families and local community had organized a protest sit-in in front of the Levies Thana Zehri.

The post noted that the identities of all the disappeared are not confirmed because of the total shutdown of communication lines halting access to information of the ground situation.

“Reports are that one of the shopkeepers has been released while others are still missing. In another tragic incident, the security forces during search operation in Zehri, a youth named Siraj Ahmed son of Nazir Pandrani was shot dead without any reason. Baloch Yakjehti Committee urges the Baloch nation to raise voice and resist against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. The collective agony must be turned into collective resistance.”

Amid the continuous rise in cases of Baloch people facing brutality, barbaroity and violence at the hands of Pakistan, leading Baloch human rights activist and organiser of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), Mahrang Baloch gave a call on Thursday for a national gathering to be held at Dalbandin on January 25 to highlight the plight of Baloch people.

“Over the past several years, they have developed a systematic plan to assert their illegal power and ruthlessly exploit the resources of Baloch land, under which continuing the genocide of the Baloch nation is a key part of their plan”, she added.

Mahrang Baloch explained that January 25 marks the 2014 discovery of over 100 mutilated bodies in the Tootak region of Balochistan. She said that these remains belonged to Baloch individuals forcibly disappeared by Pakistani military and intelligence agencies.