Karachi: Families of Baloch missing persons staged a protest outside the Karachi Press Club against what they described as a staged police encounter. A large number of women and children participated in the demonstration, holding placards and demanding justice.
The protesters said that Hamdan, son of Muhammad Ali and a resident of Golimar, was subjected to enforced disappearance and later killed in a fake encounter. They further claimed that his body has not yet been handed over to the family.
Speaking to the media, the victim’s father, Muhammad Ali, said that his son Hamdan Baloch was taken into custody by officials of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) near Dhobi Ghat Bridge on December 29, 2025, without a warrant, after which he went missing. He described the incident as a clear case of enforced disappearance.
He added that on January 6, 2026, the CTD, during a press conference, claimed that Hamdan had been arrested from Rais Goth on suspicion of affiliation with and facilitation of an armed organization.
According to Muhammad Ali, in a statement issued on Tuesday, the CTD announced that Hamdan Baloch had been killed in an alleged encounter and claimed that he was shot by his own associates during an exchange of fire. He said this was a narrative that had been adopted in several previous cases as well.
The family stated that they have identified the body. However, representatives of the Edhi Foundation reportedly told them that the body cannot be released without authorization from the CTD, while CTD officials were delaying the matter.
Fauzia Baloch, a leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, who was present at the protest, said the group would not remain silent on the issue. She stated that enforced disappearance, followed by terrorism charges and ultimately an alleged encounter killing, raises serious legal concerns. She demanded that a case be registered against the CTD officers involved and that an immediate and transparent post-mortem examination of Hamdan Baloch’s body be conducted to establish the facts.
Protesters warned that if their demands are not met, they will expand the scope of their demonstrations.
