A fresh wave of suspected fake encounters in Balochistan has led to public anger, as rights activists accuse security forces of killing people in custody and staging the events to look like clashes.Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Monday claimed it had killed three militants in an operation in the Tang Kiryar area of Barkhan district. The bodies of Abdul Rehman Buzdar, Fareed Buzdar, and Sultan Marri were later shifted to the Basic Health Unit hospital in Rakni.However, the families of the deceased and Baloch rights groups strongly disputed the official account. They said all three had been missing for months, victims of enforced disappearance, and insisted the encounter was fake. The activists alleged that “the men were executed after being kept in illegal detention.” A CTD spokesperson said that the men died during an exchange of fire and that weapons were recovered from the scene. But this version of events has been widely rejected.In a separate incident, another youth, Ghaus Bakhsh, was found dead in Awaran district’s Kolwah tehsil. He had reportedly been summoned to a nearby military camp, and his body was discovered just hours later, bearing visible signs of torture. This added to growing suspicions of custodial killings.The Balochistan Post reported both incidents, saying the deaths follow a pattern seen in other districts such as Dukki, Ziarat and Quetta. In those cases too, individuals who had previously gone missing later turned up dead in what were officially described as security operations.Human rights groups and Baloch activists say these cases point to a disturbing trend of state-led violence. They are calling for independent investigations and international attention to ensure accountability. “This is part of a systematic campaign,” said one rights campaigner. “There needs to be an end to the impunity,” they added.
