Pakistani Force Intensify Enforced Disappearances Across Balochistan

QUETTA: On Thursday, May 16, 2024, the Pakistan army detained six people, including two brothers, from the Mashky area of Balochistan.

The missing persons have been identified as Amjad, son of Deen Muhammad; Ali, son of Deen Muhammad; Mehboob, son of Yar Mohammad; Taj Muhammad, son of Muhammad Ibrahim; Baloch, son of Dil Murad; and Abdullah, son of Abdul Qadir.

According to sources, people organized a protest rally from Gurjak to Malashband against forced disappearances.

During the rally, forces detained Abdullah, son of Abdul Qadir, and he disappeared.

Later on, Taj Muhammad, son of Muhammad Ibrahim, went to the camp to ensure the safety of those who had been forcibly disappeared, but he was also detained and disappeared by the forces.

It may be recalled that Mehboob’s father, Yar Muhammad, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the Gachak area of Panjgur in 2017.

The killers are said to have belonged to the government-backed group known as the Death Squad.

Earlier this week, Pakistani security forces launched offensives in the Sui area of Dera Bugti and abducted dozens of people, shifting them to an unknown location.

The abducted individuals include Dost Ali, son of Dostain Bugti; Balach, son of Shahmor Bugti; Dilshad, son of Abid Hussain Bugti; Yaseen, son of Ghulam Rasool Bugti; Saleh, son of Hazar Khan Bugti; Yusuf, son of Zahoor Bugti; and Popal, son of Lal Bakhsh Bugti.

Teenage Balach, son of Shahmore Bugti, was also among those abducted by Pakistani forces from Sui, Dera Bugti on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.

According to local sources, the forces ransacked houses and tortured residents including women and children.

Several other individuals have also been subjected to enforced disappearances by the forces, whose identities have not yet been determined.

Since the new coalition government of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Sharif (PML-N) came to power, Pakistani forces have intensified human rights violations in Balochistan.

The current Balochistan provincial government is largely comprised of pro-Pakistan army individuals who are accused of leading their own militias, commonly known as military-backed ‘death squads’ in Balochistan.