Balochistan: Wave of custodial killings raises fresh alarms over Pakistan's security apparatus

Balochistan [Pakistan], January 9 (ANI): Two men who had been missing for months after reportedly being detained by Pakistani security forces were found dead in Balochistan's Awaran district, families and local sources stated.
The deceased were identified as Ayaz Baloch and Zareef Ahmed, both hailing from Kolwah in the Kech district, as reported by The Balochistan Post.
According to The Balochistan Post, Ayaz, a schoolteacher, was taken into custody on October 16 along with another individual, while Zareef was seized from his home on September 28. Both men remained missing until their bodies were recovered from the Berith area, a remote part of the Awaran district. Relatives accused Pakistani forces of killing the two in detention and discarding their bodies in an isolated location. Pakistani authorities did not immediately respond to the allegations.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), in a statement, said the discovery of Ayaz's remains confirmed that he had been "extrajudicially killed while in state custody." The group described the incident as another example of an entrenched system of enforced disappearances, custodial torture and targeted killings of Baloch youth, students and educated professionals. The BYC urged international human rights bodies to intervene as domestic mechanisms, it argued, had failed to deliver justice.
The crisis widened when four bodies recovered on Saturday in Balochistan's Harnai district were identified as Noor Muhammad, Juma Khan Marri, Muhammad Rasool and Ali Akbar, according to their families and local sources. Relatives said Ali Akbar had been taken by security forces seven months earlier, as highlighted by The Balochistan Post.
At the same time, the family of Juma Khan Marri stated he was detained from Harnai Bazaar a year ago and had not been seen since. Rights organisations said two of the Harnai victims were not yet officially categorised as enforced disappearance cases but raised concerns they too may have died in custody. In a separate incident, police in the Musakhel district discovered four additional bodies believed to have been killed and abandoned. Their identities remained unconfirmed at the time of reporting, as reported by The Balochistan Post. (ANI)