Pakistani forces abduct four civilians in escalating crackdown across Balochistan


Quetta, Sep 30 (IANS) At least four Baloch civilians were forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani forces in Balochistan as the cycle of persecution continues amid an escalating wave of enforced disappearance across the province, a leading human rights organisation stated on Tuesday.

Paank, the Baloch National Movement’s Human Rights Department, mentioned that on September 27, Pakistani security forces abducted two residents of Gilli Buleda in Kech district.

Murad Jan, a daily-wage labourer, was forcibly disappeared while on his way to his agricultural field, while Abdul Hakeem was abducted from his home in the same area.

The rights body stated that two days later, on September 29, Sher Ali, a shopkeeper from Gardank, Tehsil Buleda in Kech, was also forcibly disappeared by the Pakistan Army.

Additionally, on Tuesday, Nizar Arz Muhammad, a driver engaged in cross-border trade and resident of Paroom in Panjgur district, was forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani security forces from Buleda, and his whereabouts remain unknown.

“These back-to-back abductions highlight the ongoing pattern of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, targetting civilians without due process or accountability,” Paank stated.

Highlighting the atrocities on Baloch civilians, Paank stated that on Monday, Pakistan-backed death squad members opened fire in the Jhain area in Panjgur, injuring two local residents.

Citing local sources, the rights body stated that the attackers arrived in an Iranian-made Toyota and fired indiscriminately. The injured were identified as Yousuf, who remains in critical condition, and Uzair.

Recently, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) documented widespread human rights violations across Balochistan, including 123 enforced disappearances and 26 killings, carried out by Pakistan-backed death squads and security forces in the month of August.

In its report, the HRCB detailed that in August 2025, 123 cases of enforced disappearance were recorded. Of these, 106 individuals remain missing, 12 were released, and five were extrajudicially killed while in custody.

People from Balochistan are currently fighting for their independence from Pakistan.

Various human rights organisations of Balochistan have time and again highlighted the repression by Pakistani forces in the province, which includes violent raids on the homes of Baloch leaders and civilians, unlawful arrests, enforced disappearances, the ‘kill and dump’ policy, detention under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, and the filing of fabricated police cases.

–IANS

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