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A new report by the Baloch Advocacy and Studies Centre (BASC) has revealed an alarming surge in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan, exposing the scale of Pakistan's violent suppression of dissent amid its drive to exploit the province's mineral wealth.
Titled "Minerals and Misery: The Human Cost of Pakistan's Resources Politics in Balochistan", the report documents 824 enforced disappearances between January and June 2025, surpassing all cases recorded in 2024. Of these, 530 individuals remain missing, while 294 were later released. Kech district recorded the highest number of victims, followed by Awaran and Gwadar. Students made up 42.5 per cent of all identified victims, with 217 disappearances, while labourers and drivers were also heavily targeted. The report also highlights the abduction of numerous teenagers, many later found dead, marking one of the worst spikes in child disappearances in recent years. Extrajudicial killings have similarly spiked, with 113 recorded deaths in the first half of 2025, a ninefold increase from the previous year. Most killings occurred in Kech and Awaran, while labourers comprised 36 per cent of those executed. BASC links this escalation to Pakistan's passage of the Mines and Minerals Act, 2025, which centralised federal control over Balochistan's resources, and the Anti-Terrorism (Balochistan Amendment) Act, 2025, which broadened the definition of "terrorism" to include peaceful dissent. "The Pakistani state is using enforced disappearance and unlawful killings as instruments of governance," BASC stated, condemning the militarisation of resource politics. In September 2025, Pakistan's agreement with US-based firms for large-scale mineral extraction, without local consent, reinforced what BASC calls "exploitation under occupation". The report urges international investigations, the release of detainees, and accountability for perpetrators. "Balochistan's people are being erased in the name of progress," BASC stated. "Without global action, Pakistan's silent war on its own citizens will continue unchecked." (ANI)
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