Balochistan Outcry: Staged Encounters Accusations Resurface

Allegations of 'staged encounters' by Pakistani security forces in Balochistan have arisen after four missing men were reportedly killed. Human rights groups and Baloch activists are demanding accountability for what they see as a systematic pattern targeting forcibly disappeared Baloch individuals, sparking widespread outrage and calls for justice.

In Balochistan's Musa Khel district, four missing men have been reportedly killed in an alleged 'staged encounter' orchestrated by Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), as reported by human rights groups. This incident has ignited anger among Baloch activists, who argue it forms part of a worrying trend of extrajudicial actions targeted at Baloch individuals who had been forcibly disappeared.

The CTD claimed responsibility for a November 3 operation on a national highway near Rarasham, where a combined force of CTD personnel, Frontier Corps, and law enforcement agents engaged in a reported gunbattle with 'terrorists.' Official reports state three suspects were killed, two arrested, and weapons confiscated.

However, families of three of the deceased have identified them as missing individuals: Muhammad Nawaz Buzdar, Ghulam Buzdar, and Jafar Marri. The Baloch Yakjheti Committee decried the incident, accusing security forces of staging encounters and emphasizing a pattern of systematic targeting. Reports liken this to a similar case in Turbat last year, leading to demands for accountability from human rights organizations.

(With inputs from agencies.)