May 15, 2025 : The discovery of Fahad Lehri’s bullet-riddled body on May 14 has reignited widespread anger and sorrow across Balochistan, highlighting yet another grim chapter in Pakistan’s ongoing “kill-and-dump” policy targeting Baloch civilians.
Lehri, a young student abducted from Mastung on May 4, was found dead in the same region ten days later, his body bearing signs of execution-style killing. Human rights groups and Baloch advocacy organizations have condemned the act as part of a pattern of extrajudicial killings carried out by state forces.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) strongly denounced the killing, stating, “Fahad was not presented in court. There was no arrest warrant, no legal process, no trial. His only crime was being Baloch.”
Systemic Repression
Enforced disappearances are a longstanding crisis in Balochistan, where students, artists, political activists, and common citizens are routinely abducted without due process. Many are never seen again. Those who reappear—like Fahad—often do so as corpses.
“This is not law enforcement; it is cold-blooded murder,” the BYC stated. “We reject this system of oppression where lives are discarded and voices silenced.”
International Silence, Local Resistance
Despite repeated warnings by international human rights organizations, the Pakistani state continues to operate with impunity, shielded by a media blackout and a lack of global accountability. The BYC termed these acts as “war crimes behind closed borders.”
But resistance is building. As Fahad’s family begins to mourn, communities across Balochistan are uniting in protest. “We will remember Fahad. We will say his name. Bullets may bury bodies, but they cannot bury truth,” BYC affirmed.
A Worsening Human Rights Crisis
Enforced disappearances remain one of the most pervasive and alarming human rights violations in Pakistan, particularly in restive provinces like Balochistan. Victims are often detained without charges, held incommunicado, subjected to torture, and in many cases, executed without trial.
Rights groups argue that such actions, often justified under national security or counterterrorism rhetoric, violate both domestic laws and international humanitarian norms.
With Fahad Lehri’s killing, Balochistan mourns another young life lost—and renews its call for justice, visibility, and international intervention.