UN human rights experts have raised serious concerns over the enforced disappearance, torture and extrajudicial killing of a Balochistan man, Imran Ali, urging Pakistan to launch a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into his detention and death.
The case came to light again during a hearing before Pakistan’s Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances on August 6, 2026. A police officer reportedly told the commission that Ali had been killed during an alleged encounter in May 2026. They said none of the bodies was properly documented or reported by hospital staff or police before being buried without identification or notification to relatives.
The UN experts also expressed concern over the handling of six other bodies reportedly brought to the hospital alongside Ali’s.
In a press release, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that Ali was abducted from his apartment on August 27, 2025, by around 20 personnel from Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). The UN experts said people who had previously been detained with Ali confirmed after their release that he had been held in custody and allegedly tortured for several days. He was reportedly taken to an undisclosed location, while his family was not provided with official information about his whereabouts. After learning of the development, Ali’s family went to Civil Hospital Quetta, where they reportedly identified him from photographs held in hospital records.
They said an investigation should determine the cause and circumstances of his death and identify those responsible. The experts called for independent forensic examinations, proper identification, and dignified return of Ali’s remains to his family.
