Balochistan [Pakistan], April 16 : Paank, the human rights division of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), has said that there were at least 181 cases of enforced disappearances and 12 extrajudicial killings recorded in Balochistan during the month of March.
The group reported that Pakistani security forces, along with allied armed groups known locally as "death squads," carried out widespread abductions and enforced disappearances, primarily targeting students, activists, and civil society members. Many of these arrests were allegedly made without warrants or any judicial process, The Balochistan Post reported.
Out of those who were forcibly taken, 87 individuals were eventually released. Several of them reportedly endured harsh physical mistreatment while in custody, as reported by the Balochistan Post.
The highest number of enforced disappearances in March was reported in Quetta and Kalat, with 37 cases. Other areas affected included Dera Bugti (18 cases), Gwadar (15), Nushki (13), Dera Ghazi Khan (10), Kech (9), Barkhan (8), Awaran (7), Karachi (6), Lasbela (5), Mastung (4), Panjgur (3), and Naseerabad (2). Single cases were also reported from Islamabad, Kachhi, Jaffarabad, Jacobabad, and Khuzdar, The Balochistan Post reported.
According to Paank, several of those killed extrajudicially had previously been reported as forcibly disappeared. One such case was Nizam Baloch, who was abducted from Gilli, Buleda, on March 11 and found dead the following day. His brother, Shah Nawaz Baloch, was subsequently shot and killed in Kech. Another victim, Shah Jahan Kurd--the brother of Zahid Baloch, a forcibly disappeared leader of the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO)--was killed in the Naal region of Khuzdar, the Balochistan Post reported.
On March 21, three people were shot and killed during a protest demanding the release of missing persons. Paank identified the victims as 12-year-old Naimat Baloch, Habib Baloch, and Imdad Baloch, describing Naimat's death as "a symbol of state oppression."
On March 23, Ehsan Baloch--a Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) activist and shopkeeper--was killed in Khuzdar. Paank referred to his death as "a premeditated targeted assassination." Three days later, the mutilated bodies of Tohseef, Zaheer, and Irshad Baloch--who had reportedly been abducted earlier--were discovered in Mashkay, as reported by Balochistan Post.
Additionally, the bodies of Saif Baloch and Anas Baloch, who had been missing for several months, were found during the same month.
Paank also denounced the continued detention of BYC leaders Mahrang Baloch, Beebow Baloch, Bebarg Baloch, and Shah Ji Sibghatullah Baloch under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law.
The group expressed concern over the secret burial of 13 unidentified bodies in Quetta's Qasi Graveyard, suggesting they could be victims of enforced disappearance and called for immediate forensic investigations, the Balochistan Post cited.
Paank condemned the ongoing crackdown as a breach of international human rights law and urged the United Nations and global human rights organisations to take action and hold the Pakistani government accountable.