Pakistan's 'kill and dump' policy not tool of fear but genocidal mechanism: Baloch rights defenders

Quetta, May 15 Terming the recent abductions and murders of Tariq Baloch and Sameer Sabzal as fresh evidence of Islamabad's continued policy of annihilation, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) on Thursday stated that Pakistan's war against the Baloch people remains calculated and brutal as ever with its "kill and dump" policy.

Son of Ibraheem Kalamati, a renowned car racer from Gwadar's Jiwani, Tariq was forcibly abducted from a guesthouse on the night of May 11 by the so-called Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). Less than 24 hours later, his lifeless body was found dumped in Balochistan province's Palliri.

Earlier this month, 25-year-old Sameer Ahmed Sabzal was abducted by personnel affiliated with Pakistan's Military Intelligence (MI) in Panjgur. His tortured, bullet-riddled body, bearing clear signs of torture, was found on May 9.

"Today, the mask is off. The state no longer hides. The rebirth of the original "kill and dump" policy is underway, more brazen, more unapologetic. Victims like Tariq Baloch, abducted twice and found dumped in Gwadar and Sameer Sabzal from Panjgur are fresh evidence of this state policy of annihilation," read a statement issued by the BYC on Thursday.

"What we are witnessing is a violation of international human rights law, a breach of Geneva Conventions, and an assault on every principle of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To every human rights body, journalist, and international institution: The Baloch are being killed and you are letting it happen. The "kill and dump" policy is not just a tool of fear. It is a genocidal mechanism," the statement further added.

The BYC stated that the modern incarnation of the "kill and dump" policy began in 2009 with the abduction and extrajudicial execution of three Baloch leaders: Waja Ghulam Mohammad, Sher Mohammad, and Lala Munir. Since then, the list of victims has grown into the hundreds and includes students, teachers, doctors, and political workers.

BYC pointed out that between 2020–2021, Pakistan introduced a new legal façade: the "encounter" narrative, led by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).

"Through CTD fake encounters, the state crafted an illusion of law. Victims were renamed terrorists. The extrajudicial became legal. The genocidal became administrative. The language changed, but the bloodshed didn't. This manipulation allowed the Pakistani state to whitewash its war crimes before the international community, evading scrutiny under the guise of "counterterrorism". It allowed the murder of youth like Balach Mola Baksh to be legitimised in policy papers, while Balochistan mourned in silence," read the statement.

Calling on "every" human rights body, journalist, and international institution, the BYC stated that the Baloch are being killed and they are letting it happen.

"The kill and dump policy is not just a tool of fear. It is a genocidal mechanism. We, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, vow to document every name, every body, every grave. We vow to resist, with our voices, our mothers' tears, and our people’s truth," the BYC stated.

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee is an organisation advocating for the rights of the minority Baloch community in Pakistan.

Baloch human rights defenders from the BYC have been allegedly arrested by Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Department or forcibly disappeared.

In March, several UN experts demanded that Pakistan immediately release detained Baloch human rights defenders and cease its crackdown on peaceful protesters. The experts expressed concern about an escalating series of actions by the Pakistan police against the BYC.

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