The security forces forcibly disappeared thirty-eight people from nine districts of Balochistan in September. However, twelve people were tortured and released without any explanation while the whereabouts of twenty-six people remain unknown till the time of this report. Moreover, two victims of enforced disappearances are also released in the month of September who had remained in the illegal custody of forces for more than one year. Allah Rakha, a student, and resident of Apsar area of district Kech is one of them. He was forcibly disappeared during a raid on August 11, 2021. The other victim is Mohd Rahim s/o Mohd Aslam, a resident of the Kanak area of district Mastung. He had been missing for the last five years after forces detained him.
At least twenty-four cases of killings including two women and three children have been reported from ten districts of Balochistan during the month of September. Baloch militant groups killed four people including a woman and injured twenty people in two separate attacks while the Police Counter Terrorism Department claimed to kill six people in encounters without providing any information about their identities other than Motiullah, allegedly a member of the banned outfit Daesh. The rest of the culprits remained unknown.
Enforced disappearances:
On 29 August, Pakistani forces forcibly disappeared two persons, including a teenager, Shahzad son of Tariq, during a raid on their houses. However, his companion was released the next day while the whereabouts of Shahzad remain unknown.
On 01 September, Pakistani forces raided Gidan Hotel Khuzdar at midnight and abducted a person who was identified as Shafiq son of Hayat, a resident of the Zehri Mishk area of Khuzdar. He is an employee of the hotel. He had forcibly disappeared in the past too and was later released without any explanation.
On 03 September, according to reports, eight people who went hunting in the Shahrak area of district Kech went missing after being detained by Pakistani forces. They have been identified as Sabru, Nawab, Arif, Younis, Pirdad, Amin, Basham, and Bate Khan.
On 04 September, Syed Ullah son of Habibullah, a student of Balochistan University Pharmacy Department, was allegedly abducted by secret agents of forces from his house in Mekangi road Quetta at around 7:00 am. Since then, his whereabouts remain unknown. Later, the family members of Syed Ullah went to the police station to file a report of the incident but the police refused to file a report.
On the other hand, Ismail son of Muhammad Ibrahim was detained by Pakistani security forces from the Jhao Dolechi area of district Awaran. The security officials also ordered the local people to ensure their presence in the FC camp every day for attendance. According to locals, they are not allowed to visit marketplaces to buy daily households and hospitals without the permission of FC.
0n 06 September, Counter-Terrorism Department, and Secret Service officials detained a young man without a warrant and explanation from Umer Chowk Khuzdar. He was identified as Mumtaz son of Muhammad Murad, a resident of Awaran, Mashkey. He had remained a victim of enforced disappearances. He was abducted twice by the forces in 2015 and 2017.
On the other hand, in the Panjgur district, Pakistan forces raided a house in the Gichk area and detained a father and his two sons, and shifted them to an unknown location. The victims have been identified as Hasil Khan son of Gwahram, Noor Muhammad son of Hasil, and Sain son of Hasil.
On 07 September, a young man Yar Jan son of Abdul Malik forcibly disappeared on his way to Panjgur market.
On 18 September, Pakistani security forces raided the Gwansarden area of district Kech and abducted Jalil son of Miskan and Sayed Abbas. Women and children were tortured during the raid.
On 19 September, Muhammad Azum son of Dinar, a resident of Ahori, district Awaran, was abducted by the security forces from Choko, Awaran.
On 21 September, according to the details, Pakistan forces detained a person from Quetta and shifted him to an unknown location who has been identified as Salman son of Zahoor Ahmed, a resident of Kerdgap Mastung.
On 22 September, Ghulam Nabi son of Ghulam Ali Mengal, a resident of Kili Mengal of district Nushki, was detained by security forces from his shop on the Chiki Masjid Road Nushki. According to sources, Ghulam Nabi, who repairs electronic items had received a phone call from Pakistani intelligence agencies for his services. He was picked up by an official but never returned. He remains missing since then.
On 26 September, Siraj Ahmad son of Bahram Khan resident of Zehri Peershar went missing near Awami Hotel. According to sources, Frontier Corps personnel detained Siraj Ahmed at Awami Hotel and transferred him to an unknown location.
On 27 September, Pakistani forces detained Asghar and his son Siraj from the Kalari Sargwat area of Lyari. Later, the forces released Asghar, while his son Siraj is still in the custody of the forces.
On 27 September, security forces whisked away Barkat son of Mohammad Arif Bangulzai, a resident of Sabzal Road, from his house. Since then, his whereabouts are unknown.
Killings:
On 06 September, Abdullah son of Muhammad resident of Jamak Balnigor went missing after leaving home to Kashap, a nearby village. The next day, his dead body was found in a ditch. The circumstances of his death remained unknown.
On September 9, armed men of the Baloch Liberation Front attacked a house in Kundmain area of Balgetar and shot dead Tariq. Wife of Tariq was also killed in the incident. BLF claimed the responsibility for killing Tariq Mehrab and alleged that he was a member of a local death squad and had facilitated the army in the operations against the Baloch nationalists, however, the group did not claim to have killed the wife and said she might have been killed in cross-firing.
On 12 September, armed men entered a house in Khadkocha village of Mastung district and shot dead Muhammad Hussain son of Muhammad Yaqoob, and Badal Khan son of Muhammad Duzman Shahwani, while a woman was seriously injured. The Levies force immediately shifted the bodies and the injured to the hospital, where the bodies were handed over to their families.
On the other hand, there are reports from Kharan that the armed men killed a person named Baig Muhammad son of Takari Basham Sasoli, and fled the scene. According to sources, the said person has close ties to the military however, the motive behind the murder is still unknown.
On 16 September, a bomb blast killed one person and injured nine people at Pood Gali Chowk in Quetta. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
On 22 September, a boy was kidnapped and killed in the Besima Washuk district. According to the details, the boy is a shepherd and took the cattle to the mountains for grazing. When he didn’t return that night his family searched for him and eventually found him dead the next morning. The local administration shifted the body to the Civil Hospital in Besima but no further progress has been made in this regard.
On 23 September, Police Counter-Terrorism Department claimed to have killed two persons allegedly affiliated with the banned outfit, Daesh in the Khuzdar district. According to a CTD spokesman, two suspects were killed as a result of cross-firing during the operation while three of their accomplices escaped. According to CTD, among the dead are two persons including the most wanted Motiullah alias Bismillah.
On 24 September, A husband killed his wife in the Khuzdar district. According to Levies sources, after the incident, the killer managed to escape from the scene.
On 25 September, unknown gunmen on a vehicle shot dead Muhammad Shoaib son of Mahmood, a resident of Kalatok, in the Bahman area of Turbat, district Kech.
On 25 September, unknown armed men fired indiscriminately on a house resulting in the death of three people including an 8-year-old girl Goth Mundar near Shanshah, Chahtar. The victims were identified as the younger brother of Abdul Latif Bhangar, the senior paramedic of Naseerabad Health Department, Samandar Khan son of Raees Panja Khan Bhangar, and the 8-year-old girl Shabila. Five others were injured.
On 27 September, the CTD claimed to have killed four people in an encounter near Hazar Ganji, Quetta. According to CTD, all four of them were drug dealers and were affiliated with the banned religious organization Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
On 30 September, two people died and twenty were injured as a result of an explosion in a confectionery shop in the Kohlu district. The blast took place in Kohlu Bazar. The shopkeeper is said to be from Punjab, while the shop was completely demolished as a result of the explosion, and the nearby shops were also damaged. Baloch Liberation Army, a militant group in Balochistan took the responsibility for the attack.
The military, under the pretext of national security, has been committing atrocities on a mass scale in Balochistan. Moreover, it controls each and every aspect of people’s lives by imposing laws that natives have to follow in order to save themselves and their properties. There are reports from Mashkay, Balochistan that the patrol teams of the forces are harassing the villagers of Daira, Meskasi, Harkshan, Dostin Bhand, Maini, and Bhandki, and ordered them to come to the camp of Bhand every day. Moreover, they were forbidden to go to the Awaran or Mashkey Gajjar, nearby towns from where people buy daily household things without taking written permission from the army. They had to write each and every detail about the item they would buy or people they meet. The military also controls the amount of ration they can buy. The military also ordered the people of the above-mentioned villages to get written permission for visiting relatives or friends in the nearby villages.
