Balochistan: 42 killed, 35 disappeared in November 2022

Balochistan: 42 killed, 35 disappeared in November 2022

Human Rights Council of Balochistan has received reports of the enforced disappearance of at least thirty-five people during the month of November 2022. Among the abductees, Frontier Corps abducted thirty-one people while the remaining four people were abducted by unknown gunmen. However, 13 people have been released after days of detention whereas, the whereabouts of the rest of the abductees remained unknown at the time of writing this report.

Moreover, the extrajudicial killing of forty-two people was also reported during the month. Twenty-two people were killed by forces, fourteen people were targeted and killed, three people including a woman were killed for honor, and two mutilated dead bodies were also found during the month.

Five victims of enforced disappearance who were abducted by forces months before were also released including human rights activist and publisher, Faheem Baloch. He was forcibly disappeared by police from his shop on August 26.

Enforced disappearances:

On November 3, Frontier Corps raided forcibly disappeared Kalimullah Ali and Ayaz Mubarak during raids on their homes in the Sheikh Haji area of district Khuzdar and Lohri Gichk area of district Panjgur respectively and moved them to unknown locations.

On November 5, three people were whisked away by unidentified armed men from the Shahrak area of district Kech. Since then, their whereabouts are unknown. The victims were identified as Mughal Mohammad, Umeed Charshambay and Rustom Nazar.

On November 20, the frontier corps raided an apartment in the Isa Nagri area of Quetta and forcibly disappeared four students. Later, three students were released however, the whereabouts of Waheed Sakhi, a student from the district Kech area of Balochistan remained unknown.

On November 23, the frontier corps raided a house in the Civil Colony of Khuzdar and whisked away three people. No one heard of them since then. The victims were identified as Asim Majeed, Sikandar, and Asif. All three run a shopping center in Khuzdar.

On the same day, the frontier corps abducted three more people from the Machi Malar area of district Awaran. No one heard of them since then. They were identified as Salim, Diljan Limo and Allah Bakhsh Umar.

On November 29, Frontier corps whisked away five people from the Tump area of district Kech. According to details, frontier Corps raided a house late at night and whisked away four people including two brothers Sagheer and Ameer sons of Rasheed. The other victims were identified as Mureed Hussain and Farooq. The forces raided another house early morning and whisked away another person identified as Shoaib son of Wahid.

On November 30, the frontier corps forcibly disappeared four people from different areas of Balochistan. Abdul Rasheed, a shop owner was abducted from his shop in Mangochar area of district Mastung, Abdullah, a student, and Mehboob were abducted from Paroom, district Panjgur and, Hakeem Dad was abducted from his home in Tijaban area of district Kech.

Killed:

In the month of November, HRCB received reports of forty-two cases of extrajudicial executions. The inefficiency and corruption of government and law enforcement agencies, impunity to forces, and unaccountability have encouraged perpetrators to commit crimes without fear of reprisal. In November, 14 cases of target killings were reported, the largest number of people killed in target killings in recent months. Three people including a woman were killed for honor, a trend that is increasing with the passing of each month, and two mutilated dead bodies were also found during the month.

Moreover, Frontier corps killed twenty-two people in separate operations including a shepherd Mohammad Gaus who was detained during the military operation in the Bolan area of district Kachhi. Mohammad Gaus son of Afzal Khan Marri was abducted for the first time in September 2021. He was brutally tortured and later released without any explanation. During the operation in Bolan, he was once again detained, tortured, and later shot dead and dumped his bullet-riddled body.