HRCB Condemns the Targeted Killing of Professor Ghamkhwar Hayat Baloch

The Human Rights Council of Balochistan strongly condemns the targeted killing of Professor Ghamkhwar Hayat Baloch on May 16, 2026, in Noshki’s Killi Mengal area, allegedly carried out by state-backed armed groups commonly referred to locally as “death squads.”

Professor Ghamkhwar Hayat Baloch, whose real name was Muhammad Khan, was widely known in the literary world by his pen name due to his significant literary work and intellectual contributions. He belonged to Noshki district and was the son of local political activist Abdul Majeed Sasoli.

After completing his higher education, he was appointed as a lecturer in the Brahui language in 2014. At the time of his killing, he was serving as an Assistant Professor at Degree College Noshki. Professor Ghamkhwar was a renowned Brahui-language poet, writer, and intellectual who had authored fifteen books and played a significant role in promoting literature, language, and critical thought. His contributions to intellectual and cultural life made him a respected voice within literary and academic circles.

Some time ago, his name had been placed on the Fourth Schedule, following which he was transferred to Sibi. However, he was later reassigned to Noshki.

The killing of Professor Ghamkhwar is a profound loss for a region where education and critical thought are increasingly met with repression, and where those who promote knowledge, awareness, and intellectual engagement face persecution, enforced disappearances, and violence by the state and its proxies.

HRCB is deeply alarmed by the growing pattern of violence and repression targeting professors, intellectuals, and members of academic institutions in Balochistan. Recently, Dr. Abdul Razzaq Sabir, Syed Manzoor Ahmed, Dr. Irshad Buledi, along with their driver Hatum, were reportedly subjected to enforced disappearance while traveling on an official visit.

We demand an immediate, impartial, and transparent investigation into the killing of Professor Ghamkhwar and urge international human rights organizations to take urgent notice of the worsening situation faced by academics, intellectuals, and human rights defenders in Balochistan.