GWADAR, Balochistan: In a horrific case of custodial murder, the body of Shah Bakhsh Umar, a 33-year-old local fisherman, was recovered on July 4, 2026, bearing signs of severe torture after nearly six months of enforced disappearance.
Shah Bakhsh, a resident of Rober Jiwani, Gwadar, was forcibly abducted by Pakistani security forces during a late-night raid on his residence on January 7, 2026. After months of his whereabouts being kept hidden, his body was dumped with extensive signs of abuse, including a shattered facial structure and broken facial bones caused by extreme physical violence.
The International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (IVBMP) highlights that this killing exposes the state’s pattern of using missing persons as scapegoats—staging their deaths to look like militant encounters following security incidents, despite these individuals being documented civilians. Gwadar, despite being framed as a hub of economic development, remains severely plagued by state-led abductions, torture, and extrajudicial executions.
International Community
The IVBMP strongly condemns this brutal custodial murder. The organization urgently appeals to the United Nations and global human rights bodies to take immediate notice of the deepening human rights crisis in Balochistan, demand an end to the targeted killing of missing persons, and hold the perpetrators accountable.
