Global Watch | How Pakistani death squads are carrying out ‘Kill and Dump’ mission in Balochistan

The area of Turbat in Balochistan has been witnessing widespread protests for over a fortnight as the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) continues to carry out fake encounters with dozens of young men in Balochistan. In this recent spate of killings, Balach Baloch was killed by CTD in a fake encounter in Turbat on 23 November. Relatives of Balach Baloch had visited Turbat Police Station to register the FIR for abduction but the police did not respond and no FIR was registered. According to Balach’s lawyer Jadin Baloch, this young man was abducted on 29 October 2023. His relatives approached the local police station in Turbat but the police refused to cooperate and did not register the FIR for his abduction. After 22 days, a bogus FIR was registered by the police in which he was shown to have been arrested with 5kg of explosives. On 21 November police produced him in front of the local ATC (Anti-Terrorist Court) court and requested for 10 days of physical remand. Meanwhile, his lawyer Jadin Baloch prepared the bail application for Balach because according to evidence produced by his family, he was abducted on 29 October and the FIR was baseless so he should have been released on bail. But before the bail application could be heard CTD killed him in a fake encounter. The relatives of the Balach Baloch along with the civil society and human rights groups started statewide agitation against the growing trend of fake encounters by the CTD in Turbat. The relatives of Balach reiterated in front of the media that Balach was picked up from his house on the night of 29 October. According to Baloch activists, CTD is a state-owned death squad primarily established to carry out ‘kill & dump’ activities in Pakistan-occupied Balochistan. The CTD had falsely claimed to have killed four youths, including Balach, in an armed encounter on 23 November. Even as the protests broke out on these fake encounters in Turbat, CTD carried out another fake encounter on 27 November killing another young man Shohaib Baloch. Following these fake encounters, thousands of people in Balochistan are carrying out sit-in protests demanding that a case of murder should be registered against the CTD and that these fake encounters should stop immediately. There was a complete shutdown in Turbat on 25 November and the lack of transparency led the Baloch people to boycott the court proceedings. According to the latest reports, the sit-in protest is now continuing in front of the Turbat Police station. Protestors and the relatives of Balach Baloch and Shohaib Baloch have released a detailed press statement with six demands – the murderers of Shaheed Balach and Shaheed Shoaib should be punished; CTD should be disarmed across Balochistan; the death squads of Pakistan establishment should be disarmed across Balochistan; all Baloch hostages (Missing Persons) and especially those whose families are currently protesting should be brought to court immediately; forced disappearances carried out by Pak establishment should be stopped immediately; as many people have been killed in fake encounters, the state should admit these extrajudicial acts and give assurance of that there would be no more fake encounters. The Pakistan establishment has, however, not responded to these demands yet and it appears that this clash could lead to another wave of mass uprising against Pakistan’s high-handed tactics. Pakistan authorities have, meanwhile, blacked out the coverage of what is happening in Turbat even as the relatives of the victims and several civil society members from Balochistan have demanded international intervention to stop the mass violation of human rights of Baloch people. Pakistani minister wants genocide in Balochistan Balochistan’s Home Minister, Sarfaraz Bugti, who is also currently interior minister in the caretaker government in Pakistan, categorically said in November this year that genocide is the only option to resolve the security crisis in Balochistan. Bugti is the de jure head of Balochistan’s security apparatus. While talking to tribal leaders in Pakistan House in Dera Bugti, he told them, “Baloch armed groups have challenged the writ of the state and have compromised the security conditions. To establish long-lasting peace in the region for a prosperous Pakistan, the only option is to commit a full-scale genocide against the dissidents.”  Bugti’s statement was released through the news agency INP and was published in many mainstream Pakistani daily newspapers. Bugti had also claimed in this conversation that Pakistan authorities have already succeeded in “clearing” many areas in Balochistan. The Balochistan Post, one of the few media outlets that continues to report on the worsening ground situation in Balochistan aptly summed it up in a recent editorial. It said, “The sit-in protest in Turbat against the fake police encounter leading to the death of young Balaach has persisted for several days. Demonstrations supporting this cause are occurring in various cities of Balochistan and Pakistan. The movement denounces fake police encounters, highlighting the plight of families affected by atrocities along the Goldsmid Line and hundreds of enforced disappearances at the hands of Paksitani forces.” It added, “While leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party and Muslim League-N are in Quetta preparing for elections and pledging to address Balochistan’s issues, the protests in Turbat and Islamabad demand more than mere lip service. The state’s strategies to quell the Baloch insurgency, marked by collective punishment, enforced disappearances and alleged fake police encounters, have proven ineffective. Resolving the Baloch problem is deemed essential to quelling the movements and insurgency in Balochistan. Voice for Baloch Missing Persons reports that over two hundred forcibly disappeared individuals have allegedly been killed in fake encounters by the Anti-Terrorism Department of the Police across Balochistan in the past two years. Relatives of the victims continue their protests, with thousands participating in the Turbat protest against the alleged extrajudicial killing of Balach. The people of Balochistan, worn down by state oppression, may escalate their protest into a larger movement if the reported extrajudicial killings persist. Failing to halt such incidents could exacerbate the state’s problems in Balochistan.” The writer is an author and columnist and has written several books. He tweets @ArunAnandLive. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.