Quetta, February 19 – Families of missing Baloch individuals held a protest outside the Karachi Press Club, condemning what they called a staged encounter of a young man who had previously been forcibly disappeared and later killed in a staged police operation, local media reported.
The protesters stated that the authorities were not returning the body of the deceased to his family.
During the protest, a large number of women and children held placards and demanded justice. The protesters said that 24-year-old student Hamdan Baloch was subjected to enforced disappearance before being killed in what they described as a "fabricated encounter." The family said that the authorities were not giving them the body of Hamdan Baloch despite identification, as reported by The Balochistan Post.
Speaking to reporters during the protest, Hamdan's father, Muhammad Ali, said that his son was detained by Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel on December 29, 2025, near Dhobi Ghat Bridge without a warrant. He said that the family received no information about his whereabouts following the detention and termed the incident a clear case of enforced disappearance.
According to the family, CTD officials in a press conference on January 6, claimed that Hamdan had been detained on suspicion of being connected to an armed group and alleged facilitation activities. The family has rejected these claims and termed the allegations fabricated.
The family said they took legal recourse after the charges were brought against Hamdan Baloch. They stated that Hamdan's court appearance was scheduled, after which he was transferred to jail custody. However, CTD issued a statement on Tuesday, where it mentioned that Hamdan Baloch was killed in an armed encounter and had died due to firing by his own associates.
Muhammad Ali said similar statements had been used in previous cases and raised questions over the credibility of the explanation. Family members said they later identified the body of Hamdan Baloch; however, they faced problems in receiving his remains.
While addressing a press conference, relatives termed the pattern of enforced disappearance, terrorism allegations, and encounter killing a serious violation of law and human rights and called for registering a criminal case against CTD officers who were involved in the killing of Hamdan Baloch.
They demanded an immediate and transparent post-mortem examination and continuation of legal proceedings related to the case, as reported by The Balochistan Post.
During the protest, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Fauzia Baloch said the sequence of enforced disappearance followed by terrorism accusations and subsequent encounter killing seemed to place actions beyond legal accountability and demanded an impartial investigation and an independent autopsy to find the circumstances of death.