A recent surge in alleged fake encounters by Pakistani security forces in Balochistan has ignited widespread condemnation from local families and rights activists. They accuse authorities of staging killings to appear as armed clashes while the victims were in custody.
The families of Abdul Rehman Buzdar, Fareed Buzdar, and Sultan Marri assert that their relatives were forcibly disappeared before being killed in custody. These individuals' bodies were later transferred to the Basic Health Unit hospital in Rakhi.
On Monday, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed responsibility for killing three militants during an operation in Barkhan district. However, the families and several Baloch human rights organizations have contested these claims, stating the men had been missing for months prior to their deaths and graphic reports suggest they were executed after illegal detention.
CTD officials maintain that the deaths occurred during an exchange of fire, and weapons were recovered from the site. Nonetheless, such official accounts have often been disputed amid long-standing allegations of human rights abuses by Pakistani forces, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan.
In a separate case in Awaran district’s Kolwah tehsil, Ghaus Bakhsh, a young man, was discovered dead hours after being summoned to a nearby military camp, with his body showing clear signs of torture.
These incidents reflect the intensifying crackdown on the Baloch insurgency and independence movement, with authorities reportedly using forced disappearances and lethal force against dissidents and protesters alike.
According to the Human Rights Council of Balochistan, March 2025 witnessed 151 cases of enforced disappearances and 80 killings, indicating a sharp escalation in violence and repression in the region.
