QUETTA, Jan 10 – A wave of terror continues to grip Balochistan as death squads backed by Pakistani forces execute extrajudicial killings, human rights organizations charged on Saturday. In a chilling incident, 19-year-old Balach Baloch was gunned down in Panjgur district’s Tasp area on January 8 while trying to flee captors, according to the Baloch National Movement’s rights arm, Paank.
Eyewitness accounts describe how armed men, allegedly supported by Pakistan’s military, chased and shot Balach dead without any legal proceedings. This killing fits a disturbing pattern where security forces deploy shadowy armed groups for enforced disappearances and targeted assassinations, primarily against political activists and their families, Paank stated. Such actions blatantly violate international law, the group emphasized.
Adding to the horror, Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) reported the murder of minor Rahi Baloch outside his shop in Hoshab area of Kech district on January 5. Local sources point to the same death squads operating with state backing. BVJ described the boy’s brutal slaying as part of an ongoing genocide against Baloch civilians.
‘This incident underscores the rising trend of child abductions and extrajudicial executions in Balochistan,’ BVJ said, referencing the recent forced disappearance of 13-year-old Gohram Baloch from Quetta. Similar cases implicate government security apparatus and affiliated militias.
The Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) documented at least 1,455 enforced disappearances in 2025 alone. Frontier Corps was involved in 889 cases, intelligence agencies in 288, counter-terrorism department in 233, and death squads in 41. Tactics include midnight raids on homes (985 cases), public detentions (372), checkpoint abductions (66), and summons to military camps (32).
Baloch activists have long highlighted violent home invasions, illegal arrests, ‘kill and dump’ policies, and fabricated charges under public order laws. As the Baloch people persist in their struggle for self-determination, these reports paint a grim picture of state-sponsored repression in the restive province.