In October 2024, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan documented a significant spike in human rights abuses, recording at least 127 cases of enforced disappearances linked to Pakistan’s paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies. Of those abducted, only 49 have been released, with 78 still missing. To address the mass abductions, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) mobilized protests across several regions of Balochistan. In response, the authorities intensified their repression by suspending internet services and subjecting protesters to harassment and arrests.

Additionally, 55 killings were reported across the region, most carried out by unidentified assailants in suspected targeted attacks for unclear motives. Of the deceased, 27 remain unidentified.

Enforced Disappearances:

During the month, 127 cases of enforced disappearances were reported in Balochistan. The Frontier Corps (FC) accounted for the majority, with 85 cases, followed by intelligence agencies with 35 cases, and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) with 7 cases.

House raids were the most common method of abduction, making up 81 cases (64%), followed by detentions with 34 cases and checkpoint abductions with 12 cases.

Kech reported the highest number of cases, with 30 incidents, followed by Dera Bugti with 27 cases. Significant incidents were also reported in Nushki, Gwadar, and Hub, Karachi, Punjab and other areas.

Among the victims, 32 were students, and six had previously experienced enforced disappearance.

October 2:

Anees Barkat, a young Baloch student, was abducted by four armed men while returning home with his father in Turbat. This marks his second abduction; the first occurred on October 14, 2022.

October 3:

Imran Baloch, a farmer and sole breadwinner of his family, was abducted by Pakistani forces in Gwadar after a house raid.

October 4:

Shoaib, son of Murad Mohammad, and Kamal, son of Haji Dad Mohammad, residents of Dasht, were detained by the FC at the Duro-e-Kandag check post and taken to an unknown location.

October 7:

Shareef Jan, son of Paramos, was abducted from his home in Killi Tarheez, Noshki.
Fida Haleem, also from Killi Tarheez, was disappeared and then released soon.
Shah Saleem and Zahoor Jan, sons of Haji Fazil Khan, residents of Killi Badini, Noshki, were abducted from Quetta. Zahoor was soon released, but Saleem remains missing.

October 8:

Mumtaz and Iqbal Baloch, brothers and sons of Haji Amanullah, disappeared from Killi Badini, Nushki.
Engineer Abdul Malik, son of Haji Karam Khan, was also abducted from his home in Killi Badini.
Ali Muhammad, a shopkeeper, was abducted from Waja Bagh area of Jhao, Awaran.
Bilal Imam, a business development officer, was abducted from Meezan Bank in Kech.
Muhammad Ali Lehri was disappeared from the Kanak area of Mastung.

October 9:

Asfand Baloch, a bank employee, was abducted from UBL Bank, Nushki, while on duty.
Naseer Baloch disappeared from his mobile shop in Anambostan Chok, Nushki.
Imran Baloch and Junaid Hameed were abducted from a hotel near Hub Bhawani Shah Pump.
Akhtar Sumalani was detained by forces in Khuzdar district.

October 10:

Shamraiz Fareed and Deedag Younus, students and residents of Noshki, were abducted from their university hostels in Lahore but later released.
Wafa Manzoor, a tailor, and Muheem Jan, son of Mamjan, a student, were abducted from their home in Askani, Turbat. They were cousins.

October 11:

Sohail Abdullah was abducted for the second time from Bahman, Turbat. He had previously been abducted on December 9, 2022.
Yasir Hameed, son of Abdul Hameed, was abducted during a raid in Kalat. He had been abducted before in May 2022 and released after ten days.
Abdul Malik, son of Mohammad Yusuf and resident of Kalat, was abducted by the CTD and FC from Turbat.

October 12:

Mohammad Noor Marri, son of Yar Mohammad Marri, was abducted at the Peer Sahib check post in Harnai.

October 13:

Master Fareed, son of Haji Daulat Khan, disappeared from his home in Killi Badal Karez, Nushki.
Yasir Hameed, a student and son of Hameedullah, was abducted from Bahman, Turbat.
Attah Ullah, son of Noor Bakhsh, and Khalil Ahmed, son of Sami Ullah, students, were abducted from their homes in Shahi Tump, Turbat.
Imran, son of Taj Mohammad, and Nawaz were abducted from Kolwahi Bazar, Turbat.

October 14

Habib Ali Dost disappeared from his home in Killi Tareez, Nushki.
Siraj and Shahab were abducted from Panjgur but later released on October 23.
Four individuals—Adnan Amir, and Khudadad, son of Muhammad Tayyab, from Panjgur, and Aurangzeb, son of Hafeez, and Muhammad Ismail Tayyab, son of Muhammad Tayyab, from Kalat—were abducted while traveling toward Gwadar. They were released on October 31.

October 15:

Zain Baloch, Zarif Ahmed, Akram Baloch, and Anees Baloch, residents of Paroom, Panjgur, were abducted from a hotel in Karachi but released on October 18.

October 16:

Eight students were abducted in Karachi, including Zaheer Shaukat, Bibagr Amir, Ashfaq Khaliqdad, Shehzad Khalid, Qambar Ali, Haneef Badal, Shoaib Ali Bakhtiar, and Saeedullah. Shoaib Ali was released on October 18, and the others on October 25, except for Haneef Badal.
Mohammad Javed, a final-year student in Karachi, was forcibly disappeared from his hometown, Winder.
Ehsan Abdullah and Zakir Murad Bakhsh, residents of Mand, were detained by Pakistani forces near the Shahap border and remain missing.

October 17:

Ali Haider, a student, was abducted in the Kodasik area of Khuzdar.
Faisal Baloch, Hamza, and Musa were abducted near the Duro-e-Kandag check post. Musa was later released on October 24.
Haibat Khan Sumalani and Nooruddin Sumalani, laborers working at Mir Coal Company, were abducted by forces in Quetta after collecting their salaries and returning from Jinnah Road.
The CTD conducted raids in Dera Bugti and abducted at least fourteen individuals, identified as Fazal Hussain, Qasim Bugti, Praho Bugti, Barkat Ali Bugti, Jumma Bugti, Shah Murad, Zahid Bugti, Paahi Bugti, Dilawar Baloch, Sher Jan, Fazal Bugti, Rind Ali Bugti, Ehsan Baloch, and Zafarullah Baloch.

October 18:

Eight people, including Mustafa Baloch, Dr. Wazir, Tariq Bugti (Levies SHO), Raees Bugti, Murtaza Bugti, Ali Bugti, Qurban Bugti, and Kah Lah Bugti, were abducted by CTD in Dera Bugti.
Ata Muhammad was abducted in the Kikan area of Kech and released on November 2.

October 19:

Two students, 17-year-old Qadeer Ahmed, son of Lal Bakhsh, and Chirag Dost, son of Dost Mohammad, were abducted separately by the forces in Gwadar.

October 20:

Five individuals were abducted by intelligence agencies and CTD during raids in Sui, Dera Bugti, including Sherbat, Barkat, and Gahi Khan (all brothers, sons of Gulab Bugti), Khairullah, son of Headmaster Nawaz Bugti), and Ghulam Rasool, son of Ali Khan Bugti.
Zabad Baziz, son of Khaliqdad, and Lewari, son of Faqir, were abducted from Keelkore, Panjgur.
Obaid Tagapi was forcibly disappeared from Kharan. This marks his second disappearance, as he was previously abducted in July 2018.

October 22:

Zafar Gishkori, an employee of the Department of Environment, was abducted from Allahabad Town, Hub City.

October 23:

Irshad Ahmed, son of Muhammad Ismail, was abducted by the state-backed death squads from his shop in Panjgur.

October 25:

Oshak Maksi Dhomki and Akhtar Hamza Dhomki were abducted by intelligence agencies from Nutal area of Naseerabad.
Chakar Baloch, son of Fida Ahmad, was abducted from Gulshanabad, Turbat.

October 26:

Dolat Baloch, son of Wahid Baloch, a repeat victim of enforced disappearances, was abducted from his hometown of Tejaban, Singabad, Kech. His first disappearance occurred in December 2018 at a checkpoint. However, he was released the following day, on October 27.

October 27:

Jawar Dilawar was abducted in Sibi.
Mohabbat Ashraf was abducted in Karachi but later released on November 2. He had been previously abducted on November 18, 2021.
Bakhshal was detained in Turbat and released the next day following a protest led by his family.

October 28:

Babol Jan Lehri, a coal-mine worker, was abducted by the CTD in Mach, Kachhi while returning home from work.

October 30:

Security forces raided the Kech Culture Center and detained eight individuals, including instructor Arif Mazar, music teacher Shaukat Murad, and watchmen Ishaq Baloch, Nadeem Ahmed

October 31:

Forces raided a flat near IJP Metro Station in Rawalpindi, and detained ten Baloch students: Salim Arif, Balach Fida, Khudadad, Khalil Ahmad Somar, Khalil Ahmad Iqbal, Hamal Hosni, Babar Atta, Noor Maheem, Iftikhar Azam, and Ahsam. They were later released on November 3.
Abdul Sattar, son of Rozi, a resident of Dasht, was forcibly disappeared from New Abad Town, Gwadar.

Unreported Cases from September 2024

Several cases of enforced disappearances remain unreported due to factors like internet issues or families’ fears of retaliation from state authorities. Such circumstances often delay the reporting of these incidents. Five such cases from September only came to our attention in October.

On September 26, Shabir Ahmed, son of Amir Ahmed and a rickshaw driver, was forcibly taken near Ashok Pump. Three days later, on September 29, his cousins, Aftab Nazir Ahmed, a truck calendar operator, and Rashid Ali, a motorcycle mechanic, were also abducted by armed personnel from Sakuran Road in Hub.

Muhammad Panah, son of Mohammad Ramzan, was forcibly disappeared on September 16 from Kalat Bazar.

Attaullah, son of Jumma Khan, an eighth-grade student, was abducted from his home in Quetta ok September 5.

Killings

A total of 55 killings were reported across the region in October, with 28 victims identified. Of the deceased, 5 were female, and 50 were male.

The perpetrators included 29 incidents attributed to unknown armed men, 9 to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), and 4 to the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), who accused the victims of being state agents. Several other killings were linked to death squads, unknown assailants, and local authorities, including the Frontier Corps (FC).

Targeted killings were the most common cause of death, accounting for 24 victims. Terrorist attacks followed, with 21 people killed. One notable incident involved an attack on coal miners in Duki district, near Dhaka city, where unknown armed men killed 20 workers and injured seven. The victims included four Afghans, while the others came from Zhob, Qila Saifullah, Pashin, Musa Khel, and Kuchlak in Balochistan. Another attack occurred in Tehsil Zehri, Khuzdar district, where a bomb explosion near Saddam Ground killed one person and injured another.

Additionally, seven people, including five women and two men, were killed in honor killings, and two bodies were recovered. There was also one extrajudicial killing when the FC entered the home of Muhammad Ali Langov in the Chhapar area of Kalat, opened fire, killing him, and abducted one of his sons.

These incidents were reported across various districts, with Duki recording the highest number of killings (20 cases), followed by Panjgur with 6 and Kech with 5. Other incidents were reported in Quetta, Awaran, and Kalat.

Other Incidents

On October 3, a girl was injured by gunfire from Pakistani forces in Tejaban, Kech district, sparking protests that blocked the CPEC M8 highway.

On October 8, FIA authorities prevented BYC leader Mahrang Baloch from flying to New York at Karachi Airport. Later, state agents attacked her car, seizing her passport, phone, and car keys. Further, on October 27, Dr. Mahrang and Shahji Sibghatullah Baloch were placed on Schedule IV due to their activism against human rights abuses in Balochistan.

On October 9, shelling by Pakistani forces in Dera Bugti injured eight civilians, including women and children, in Lanju and Soghari. Military operations and roadblocks impeded medical aid access to the area.

On October 19, transporters in Dalbandin protested extortion and abuse by Pakistani Forces (FC). Drivers halted their trawlers, blocked the RCD highway, and staged a sit-in, leading to tense confrontations between FC personnel and protesters.