Geneva: UN experts have raised serious concerns over the alleged enforced disappearance, torture and extrajudicial killing of Baloch civilian Imran Ali by Pakistani forces in Balochistan, urging Islamabad to launch a prompt and impartial probe into his detention and death.

The experts said the circumstances surrounding Ali’s disappearance and death raised serious human rights concerns, and called for an independent investigation to establish what happened to him and determine accountability.

During a hearing before Pakistan’s Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances last month, a police officer reportedly told the commission that Ali had been killed in an alleged encounter in May 2026.

According to the experts, authorities took around a month to identify his body. They said officials claimed they were unable to preserve Ali’s remains before burying him in June 2026.

The experts said Ali was allegedly abducted from his home on August 27, 2025, by around 20 personnel from Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department and taken to an undisclosed location.

His family was reportedly given no official information about his whereabouts or fate for a year. The experts said people who had previously been detained with Ali later confirmed that he had been held in custody.

Ali was also reportedly tortured for several days during his detention, they said.

“Any deprivation of liberty followed by the authorities’ refusal to acknowledge the detention or by the concealment of the fate or whereabouts of that person is an enforced disappearance, and it places victims outside the protection of the law, in violation of a peremptory norm of international law,” they added.

Concerns over six other bodies

The UN experts also raised concerns over the handling of Ali’s remains and six other unidentified bodies.

They said Ali’s body was reportedly taken to a hospital along with six other bodies, but none of them was documented or reported by hospital staff or police. The bodies were subsequently buried without proper identification or notification to their families.

“Given the pattern of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, there are serious concerns that the other bodies may also belong to victims of enforced disappearances,” the experts noted.

Calling for a comprehensive investigation into Ali’s death, the experts said, “The enforced disappearance of Imran Ali and his death in custody must be subject to a prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial investigation. Such an investigation must include independent forensic examinations, proper identification of the body, and its dignified return to the family. It should establish the cause, manner, and circumstances of Ali’s death, while identifying those responsible, with a view to ensuring accountability,” they added.

UN experts flag wider pattern in Balochistan

The experts warned that Ali’s case should not be viewed in isolation, alleging that it reflected a broader pattern of unlawful detention and rights violations targeting Baloch people.

They pointed to what they described as a widespread and escalating practice involving “vague and overbroad counter-terrorism provisions, torture, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial killing” of Baloch people.

According to the experts, the alleged violations came amid reports of intensified military and security operations in Balochistan, alongside widespread allegations of “collective punishment” by Pakistani authorities.

The experts urged Pakistan to ensure accountability and take steps to prevent further violations linked to enforced disappearances, unlawful detention and alleged extrajudicial killings.