During the month of August, at least 28 people were forcibly disappeared and more than 45 killed including 23 who were allegedly killed by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in fake encounters.
Killed:
Balochistan Police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed to kill 23 people in three separate incidents during the month of August. Seven of them were identified as people the security forces had abducted and forcibly disappeared in the past.
Khan Muhammad was abducted by the forces in 2019, Jameel in March 2021, Shoaib in 2020, Ghani Baloch on 20 October 2017, Saddam Hussain on 24 April 2018, Sajid in 2018 and Abdul Ahad in January this year.
Families of the missing persons are afraid as the CTD kills more people in fake encounters. Most of the victims have been identified as previously abducted people whose families have been struggling for their recovery for, in some cases, years.
Moreover, 15 people were killed by unknown militants in different areas of Balochistan, including a four-year-old boy named Abdul Qadir, who was killed in daylight in Panjgur. He was playing outside his house when an unknown motorcyclist abducted, severely tortured, threw him, and fled away. The boy succumbed to the injuries before reaching the hospital.
Four people were killed by Baloch separatist groups accusing them of being collaborators. Four children were killed as a result of a suicide attack that targeted Chinese workers in Gwadar.
Missing:
On Aug 07, members of state-backed death squads took away Faiz son Waheed from Washbod area of Panjgur and then shifted him to an unknown location. Since then he has been missing.
On Aug 08, security forces raided a house in Keelkore, Sari Gaddagi area of Panjgur, and whisked away Nawaz son of Isa and Allah Bakhsh son of Sakhi Dad. Allah Bakhsh was later released while Nawaz is still missing. He was a student of Atta Shad Degree College in Turbat.
The same day, forces abducted another man from Shankan Bazar area of Gomazi, district Kech. The victim is Razaq son of Shambay Khan.
On Aug 09, Ramzan son of Lal Muhammad Marri, and Balach son of Takli Marri were whisked away by personnel of the Frontier Corps from their homes in Mashriqi Bypass Quetta. Ramzan was a coal miner who was previously disappeared from Harnai and then shifted to Sibi Jail. He was released on bail and his court appearance was scheduled for 13 August.
On Aug 10, personnel of the military forcibly disappeared Shahab son of Bashir during a raid on his house in Alandoor area of district Kech.
On Aug 11, personnel of the security forces picked up Najib Baloch from the Rakshan Kaor check-post while he was travelling from Karachi to Panjgur. He was a resident of Teertej area of district Awaran and son of missing Jameel Ahmad who was abducted from Awaran in 2013.
On the same day, six others were taken away by local death squads from Lejje area of Kharan. Only one of the abductees could be identified as Rasool Bakhsh son of Muhammad Karim while the identities of others remain unknown.
On Aug 12, security forces raided the house of Matiullah son of Abdul Razzaq and whisked him away. He was a resident of Washbod area of district Panjgur.
On Aug 13, Pakistani forces abducted Saadullah son of Haji Hameed, a resident of Gramkan area of district Panjgur.
On Aug 14, plain-clothed personnel of intelligence agencies abducted Aftab Baloch, a shopkeeper from Mashriqi Bypass, Quetta.
Meanwhile, the CTD claimed to have arrested two terrorists from district Awaran. Given the notorious reputation of the CTD, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan investigated the incident and found that both Siraj Ahmed s/o Wahid Bakhsh and Hassan Jan s/o Rahmat were among the forcibly disappeared persons. Both were taken into custody by the Army on June 11, 2021, and since then had remained in incommunicado detention.
On Aug 18, the forces arrested Shafiullah, a resident of Sariab, and then shifted him to an unknown location. He was detained from Kanak area of Mastung when he was going to Quetta from Noshki.
On Aug 22, Khan Muhammad son of Rauf Chalgari Marri was forcibly disappeared from Harnai Bazaar after being detained by personnel of the Frontier Corps. Meanwhile, the forces abducted Pindal Khan from Gichk Painklanch area of Panjgur. The same day, the forces abducted Mohammad Hassan, Mir Darey Khan and Anwar during a military operation conducted in retaliation to a militant attack by a Baloch separatist group in Toba Solair area of district Washuk. However, this is not the first such incident, the forces have always victimized the local population after being attacked by armed groups.
On Aug 25, personnel of secret agencies abducted Shoaib son of Izzat from the Main Bazaar of Gwadar. He was the nephew of comrade Qayyum Baloch, a former member of Baloch student Organization (Azad), who was disappeared by the security forces in December 2010, and later his mutilated dead body was recovered from Kech in February 2011 along with another Baloch activist Jamil Yaqub Baloch.
On Aug 26, the forces raided a house in Parom Nokband area of Panjgur and whisked away two persons, Faisal son of Dost Mohammad, and Basit son of Khalid. They both were businessmen, trading Iranian oil in Panjgur.
On Aug 27, Younis Anwar, General Secretary of the Fisheries Alliance, was forcibly taken away by personnel of intelligence agencies while he was sitting with his friends. Fishermen condemned the leader’s disappearance, saying he was whisked away for being outspoken over Chinese illegal trawlers in Gwadar.
On the same day, the security forces abducted two previous victims of enforced disappearance, Noor khan from Quetta, and Hakeem from Panjgur. Both had been abducted and released in 2019.
On Aug 31, personnel of the Frontier Corps arrested Fayaz son of Muhammad Azam and Javed Shams son of Shamsul Haq from Quetta, and then shifted them to an undisclosed location. Since then, no one has heard from them. Zakir son of Muhammad Yusuf and Mudassar son of Takri Saifullah Sarpra, residents of Kerdgap, were whisked away by the Pakistani forces while they were on their way to Noshki.
