UN experts have expressed grave concern over the alleged enforced disappearance, torture and extrajudicial killing of Imran Ali in Balochistan, urging Pakistan to conduct a prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding his detention and death.
Ali was abducted from his apartment on 27 August 2025 by approximately 20 agents from the Counter-Terrorism Department and taken to an undisclosed location, according to the experts. His family received no official information about his fate or whereabouts for one year. However, individuals who had previously been detained with Ali confirmed after their release that he had been held in custody and reportedly tortured for several days.
The experts said the circumstances amounted to an enforced disappearance, stressing the legal consequences of a detention that authorities refuse to acknowledge.
“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 said.
The circumstances of Ali’s death emerged during a hearing before Pakistan’s Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances on 6 August 2026. A police officer told the hearing that Ali had been killed in an alleged encounter in May 2026.
Authorities reportedly took approximately one month to identify his body. They subsequently claimed they had been unable to preserve Ali’s remains and had therefore buried him in June 2026.
Following the disclosure, Ali’s family travelled to the Civil Hospital in Quetta, where they identified his body from photographs on record. His body had reportedly been brought to the hospital alongside six other bodies, none of which were documented or reported by hospital staff or police. The bodies were subsequently buried without proper identification or notification to their families.
The UN experts said the fate of the other six bodies raised further concerns, given the broader situation in Balochistan.
“Given the pattern of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, there are serious concerns that the other bodies may also belong to victims of enforced disappearances,” they said.
The experts called for an investigation into Ali’s disappearance and death that would include independent forensic examinations, proper identification of his body and its dignified return to his family. They said the investigation should establish the cause, manner and circumstances of his death and identify those responsible, with a view to ensuring accountability.
The experts also warned that Ali’s case should not be viewed in isolation. They described his death as reflective of what appears to be a widespread and escalating practice of unlawful detention, including detention based on vague and overbroad counter-terrorism provisions, as well as torture, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing of Baloch people.
According to the experts, these alleged violations have followed reports of intensified State military and security operations in Balochistan, amid widespread allegations of collective punishment.
UN experts have previously raised concerns over the situation in Balochistan, including in March 2025, April 2025 and July 2026. The experts said they remain in contact with the Government of Pakistan regarding their concerns.
