Quetta:
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) organized a protest march in front of the Quetta Press Club on Sunday. The protesters slammed the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) for killing 5 Baloch including two teenagers in a staged encounter.
On 7 March 2021, the CTD informed the media that it had killed 5 suspected militants belonging to the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), in a gun battle in the Isplinji area of Mastung, Balochistan.
The suspects were identified as Shah Nazar, Arif Marri, Yousuf Marri, Samiullah Pirkani, and Jamil Ahmad Pirkani.
However, it was later revealed that all five victims were previously forcibly disappeared by the state security forces from different parts of Balochistan at different times, and had remained in the custody of the security forces until they died in the staged encounter.
The CTD is facing mounting criticism over what the public has termed “Extra-judicial Killings”. The political and human rights organizations are demanding an inquiry into these killings and the accountability of the CTD personnel involved in this crime.
Just as yesterday, the CTD claimed to have arrested two more suspects belonging to the BLA on March 13 from the Sariyab area of Quetta who were identified as Syed Owais Shah and Jahanzeb Baloch.
Families of Owais Shah and Jahanzeb, both in teenage, have also gone public against the CTD for pressing false charges against the teenagers. The families fear the two teenagers might face the same fate as those of the 5 Baloch killed in a staged encounter in Mastung.
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