Quetta, Aug 27 (INAS) As violence against civilians continues unabated across Balochistan, a leading human rights organisation brought to light the extrajudicial killing of one man and the enforced disappearance of a woman allegedly at the hands of Pakistani forces.
Paank, the Baloch National Movement’s Human Rights Department, mentioned that Akbar Haider, a resident of the Turbat region in Balochistan, was killed by Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on August 25 during a raid on his residence.
Condemning the killing, the rights body said that the incident represents a grave violation of the fundamental right to life and a serious abuse of state authority.
“Such actions are unacceptable and violate Pakistan’s obligations under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protects every person against arbitrary deprivation of life,” it added.
Paank expressed grave concern over the continuing impunity surrounding alleged abuses by security forces in Balochistan. It called on the government of Pakistan to immediately conduct an independent, transparent, and impartial judicial investigation into the killing of Akbar Haider and hold those responsible accountable through lawful and transparent proceedings.
Highlighting the atrocities against civilians across Balochistan, Paank said that 20-year-old student Safia Baloch was forcibly taken from provincial capital Quetta in the early hours of August 23 by Pakistani forces.
The rights body called on the authorities to immediately disclose Safia’s whereabouts and release her.
“The authorities must ensure her safety, protect her from torture and ill-treatment, and provide her family with information about her fate and whereabouts,” it noted.
Raising alarm over the incident, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) said, “The case comes amid a disturbing pattern of enforced disappearances of women in Balochistan. From January to July 2026, 23 women were reportedly abducted by security forces. Safia’s case also follows the reported abduction of Mahjabeen, another resident of Washuk, who was reportedly abducted from Quetta on 29 May 2025. Her whereabouts remain unknown.”
Shalee Baloch, the central organiser of the Baloch Women Forum (BWF), sharply criticised the incident, saying the continued abduction and enforced disappearance of Baloch women has reached an “alarming and intolerable” level.
“Habiba, Mahjabeen, Nasreena, Humaira, Najma and now 20-year-old Safia Baloch- their names represent a growing reality of Baloch women being forcibly disappeared. Safia Baloch was forcibly disappeared from Quetta in the early hours of 23 August 2026, adding yet another woman to this grave pattern. We cannot bear another abduction, and we will not allow the enforced disappearance of Baloch women to be normalised,” she posted on X.
–IANS
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