Islamabad, Feb 15: Alarming reports from Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province point to state-backed “death squads” behind the enforced disappearance of at least seven individuals, including students and locals, intensifying accusations of human rights abuses by security forces and fueling separatist grievances.
The incidents, spanning Panjgur district and Karachi, have sown widespread fear among residents, with families left in anguish without information on their loved ones’ whereabouts. According to local witnesses and reports from The Balochistan Post, armed personnel conducted a nighttime raid in Pulabad locality of Panjgur, storming homes and detaining at least six people who were bundled into vehicles and whisked away to unknown locations. Among the named victims are Inayat and Rasheed; the others remain unidentified pending confirmation.
In a parallel case on February 13, 23-year-old Zulfiqar—son of Hameed from Tasp— was publicly snatched from a bustling marketplace by men allegedly affiliated with a state-sponsored armed faction derisively called a “death squad.” Eyewitnesses described the abductors as operating with impunity, and Zulfiqar’s family reports no updates on his status or condition since the brazen daylight operation.
The pattern of abductions extends to urban centers, exemplified by the case of Zakir Noor, a Panjgur student detained in Karachi on December 30, 2025. Baloch rights group Paank alleges security personnel seized him without warrants or legal process, with no family contact since—raising specters of transfer to clandestine detention centers notorious for torture and extrajudicial killings.
Paank has condemned these acts as grave violations of international law, emphasizing that secret detentions expose victims to “serious risk” and disproportionately target Baloch youth, particularly students migrating to cities for education or jobs. “This systematic targeting stifles dissent and terrorizes communities,” a Paank spokesperson stated, echoing broader claims of a crackdown to suppress Baloch nationalist movements seeking greater autonomy or independence from Islamabad.
Balochistan, rich in minerals but plagued by underdevelopment and insurgency, has long been a flashpoint. Separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army accuse Pakistan’s military of resource exploitation and demographic engineering, while Islamabad blames “foreign hands” for fueling unrest. Enforced disappearances—estimated in the thousands by human rights watchdogs—remain a core grievance, with the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances repeatedly urging investigations.
As protests simmer and voices grow louder on social media, these vanishings threaten to escalate the cycle of violence in the province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, where economic corridors like CPEC amplify strategic stakes. Families demand immediate releases and accountability, but with no official response, the shadow of impunity looms large.
