On the fourth day of Eid, the discovery of a shot dead unidentified body near Hanna police jurisdiction once again unravelled the falsehood behind claims of “missing persons” propagated by certain Baloch rights organisations.
Initial investigations by the local police and a special team of Serious Crime Investigation Wing (SCIW) quickly identified the victim as Fahad Lehri, son of Iqbal Lehri, using fingerprint data matched through NADRA records. Fahad had been reported missing for several days, and his family was distressed, believing him to be forcibly disappeared.
However, the truth shocked many: Fahad was brutally murdered by his own friends, Sanaullah Muhammad Hassani and Idrees, over a financial dispute. After the killing, these perpetrators fabricated a story blaming “unknown abductors,” feeding the false narrative widely circulated by groups like the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).
This incident exposes a disturbing pattern: labelling individuals as “missing persons” to fuel anti-state propaganda, despite many such cases involving personal conflicts, criminal activities, or voluntary disappearances. Over recent years, hundreds so-called “missing persons” were found linked to terrorist outfits like BLA and BLF, with concrete evidence proving their involvement in militancy, facts deliberately hidden by these organisations to mislead the public.
The Hanna bypass case stands as a stark reminder that the “missing persons” narrative is often manipulated to tarnish state institutions. Before accepting such claims, the public must demand thorough investigations rather than falling prey to orchestrated campaigns aimed at defaming security forces.
It’s time to reject this propaganda and face the facts: not every disappearance is a state crime, sometimes it’s a cruel personal tragedy or a case of terror involvement. The truth matters.
