Quetta, July 21 (IANS) As violence against civilians continues unabated across Balochistan, leading human rights organisations on Tuesday brought to light the extrajudicial killing of one more civilian and the enforced disappearance of two others at the hands of Pakistani forces.
Human rights body Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) said that 18-year-old Ahmed Ali Baloch was killed in a landmine explosion in Dera Bugti district on July 19, allegedly planted by Pakistan-backed death squads.
The rights body noted that Ahmed’s death adds to the growing human cost of violence in Balochistan, where the Baloch people continue to bear the consequences of decades of conflict and insecurity.
It stressed that the incident reflects the deteriorating security and human rights situation across the province, with young people continuing to lose their lives and families left to grieve forever.
“Ahmed Ali's death does not stand in isolation; it reflects the broader reality of present-day Balochistan, where enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the operations of state-backed armed groups have become a daily occurrence. Landmines planted in civilian areas, particularly in Dera Bugti and other conflict-affected areas, continue to claim the lives of ordinary people, including children and livestock herders, turning their own land into a source of danger,” the BYC stated.
“Meanwhile, peaceful political activists, students, and human rights defenders face harassment, arbitrary detention, and violent crackdowns simply for demanding truth and accountability,” it added.
The BYC called for an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the killing of Ahmed and many others, the immediate dismantling of state-sponsored death squads, and the clearance of landmines from civilian areas.
Meanwhile, Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, strongly condemned the enforced disappearances of two civilians, Saddam Hussain and a minor boy Moaiz Jan--both residents of Awaran district in Balochistan.
Citing reports, the rights body stated that Saddam Hussain was forcibly disappeared on July 17 from Hub Chowki region in the province, while 15-year-old Moaiz Jan was abducted from the same region on July 4.
The rights body stated that personnel belonging to Pakistani security agencies were allegedly involved in their enforced disappearances. Since then, it said, both have remained missing, and their families have been left without any official information regarding their fate or whereabouts.
“The continued practice of enforced disappearances in Balochistan represents a grave human rights crisis that violates fundamental rights guaranteed under international human rights law, including the rights to liberty, security, due process, and protection from arbitrary detention,” Paank stated.
“The deliberate concealment of a person's whereabouts places them outside the protection of the law, exposing them to a heightened risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment while causing severe psychological trauma to their families,” it added.
--IANS
scor/as
