Six unidentified bodies found along Mastung highway, raising questions over Pakistans security crackdown

According to The Balochistan Post, the bodies were reportedly discovered on Saturday. One was found near the Deputy Commissioners residence, while five others were recovered from the Datho Mor section of the national highway.

The deceased were subsequently taken to a hospital under the supervision of City SHO Abdul Rauf Baloch for identification and completion of legal formalities. The five bodies found at Datho Mor reportedly remained beside the highway for several hours before police arranged their transportation to the hospital.

Local sources attributed the delay to the late arrival of an ambulance. Preliminary accounts indicated that the bodies appeared to have been dead for several days and reportedly showed signs consistent with torture.

However, authorities had yet to establish the identities of the victims, determine their cause of death or clarify the circumstances surrounding the killings. Local sources suspected that the victims could have been killed at another location before their bodies were dumped along the highway. These claims, however, had not been independently confirmed by officials.

The development comes amid longstanding allegations of enforced disappearances and so-called kill-and-dump incidents in Balochistan. Rights activists and local advocacy organisations have repeatedly accused Pakistani security and law-enforcement agencies of unlawful detentions and extrajudicial killings. Pakistani authorities have consistently rejected such allegations, as highlighted by The Balochistan Post.

The discovery also comes against the backdrop of intensified violence in Mastung and neighbouring areas, where attacks on Pakistani security personnel and government facilities have been reported.

Authorities have blamed Baloch armed groups for several such attacks and announced security operations in response, as reported by The Balochistan Post. (ANI)