Quetta, Sep 6 (IANS) Several human rights organisations on Saturday strongly condemned the extrajudicial killing of a Baloch teenager by Pakistan Army-backed death squads in Balochistan which continue to target students, activists, and political opponents across the province.

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) mentioned that Izhar Mujeeb, a resident of Kech district, was shot dead by Pakistan army’s death squads in the Mand region of the district earlier in the day.

Citing reports, the rights body stated that death squads opened fire on Izhar while he was at his shop in the morning. He was rushed to the hospital after sustaining critical injuries, but succumbed due to excessive bleeding.

Condemning the horrific incident, the Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) said, “Incidents of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, attacks on political activists, and targetted assassinations in Balochistan are clear indicators of the ongoing genocide of the Baloch people.”

The rights body called on the international community to take urgent notice of the widespread violence and repression being carried out against the Baloch civilians by the Pakistani forces.

According to Paank, the Baloch National Movement’s Human Rights Department, the brutal killing of the Baloch teenager reflected a broader pattern of violence perpetrated by the Pakistan Army-backed death squads

It stated that in August 2025 alone, Balochistan witnessed a surge in similar human rights violations, including the extrajudicial killings of two young men, Naeem Shay and Iqbal Hakeem, in Khuzdar by the death squads, widespread enforced disappearances, abductions of women and children involving harassment, and Pakistan government-imposed internet blackout that stifled dissent and access to information.

“These incidents, documented in reports highlighting over hundreds of enforced disappearances and dozens of killings in recent months, underscore a systematic campaign of state-sponsored terror,” said Paank.

The rights body urged the Pakistani authorities to immediately cease these operations, conduct independent investigations into Izhar’s death and all related cases, and hold perpetrators accountable to prevent further erosion of human rights in Balochistan.

People from Balochistan are currently fighting for their independence from Pakistan. Various human rights organisations of Balochistan have time and again highlighted the repression by Pakistani forces in the province, which includes violent raids on the homes of Baloch leaders and civilians, unlawful arrests, enforced disappearances, the ‘kill and dump’ policy, detention under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, and the filing of fabricated police cases.

–IANS

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