Bodies recovered in Balochistan fuel rights violations claims
Pakistani security forces are facing renewed accusations of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings after the bodies of five Baloch men were recovered from the Panwan and Ganz areas of Jiwani in Balochistan province. The incident has drawn sharp condemnation from rights groups and families, who allege that at least four of the victims had been missing for months before their bodies were found, according to a report by The Balochistan Post.
The Pakistani military has stated that the deceased were armed militants killed during a security operation launched after a vehicle-borne attack on a Pakistan Coast Guard camp in Panwan. The attack was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army's Majeed Brigade. However, this official account has been disputed by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), activists, and family members, who assert that the men had documented histories of enforced disappearance.
Victims identified; families recount disappearances
The victims have been identified as Abdul Haq, Peeri (son of Assa), Shah Bakhsh (son of Umar), and Haider Ali Mohammad. The fifth body remains unidentified. According to BYC, Peeri and Shah Bakhsh were taken from their homes in Robar on January 7 and had remained missing until their bodies were discovered. VBMP reported that Haider Ali Mohammad's family had staged a protest outside the Gwadar deputy commissioner's office in August 2025 demanding his release. Abdul Haq, who served as principal of Memar-e-Nau Academy in Gwadar, had been missing since February.
Rights groups highlighted that Abdul Haq was the younger brother of Mohammad Ramzan Baloch, who allegedly disappeared in 2009. Abdul Haq had spent years supporting his brother's family while campaigning for justice. VBMP has demanded an independent investigation into what it described as Abdul Haq's extrajudicial killing, as reported by The Balochistan Post.
Pattern of enforced disappearances alleged
BYC leader Sammi Deen Baloch stated that the incident reflects a continuing pattern of enforced disappearances followed by the recovery of mutilated bodies. Dr. Naseem Baloch, chairman of the Baloch National Movement, said Abdul Haq had devoted his life to educating children despite repeated setbacks. Sabiha Baloch accused authorities of misleading the family with repeated assurances of his release, as reported by The Balochistan Post.
The recoveries have intensified calls for an impartial inquiry into the deaths and the broader issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, a region long plagued by a separatist insurgency and allegations of human rights abuses by state forces.
