Baloch, a leader who had hounded authorities to find hundreds of missing Baloch nationalists in the southwest, was gunned  down  by unidentified gunmen near his house at  Siryab  Road while  he  was  on way to court.

Balochistan has long been the scene of a nationalist movement and insurgency determined to gain more autonomy for the province and a greater share of the wealth mined from its natural resources.

Activists say hundreds of Baloch nationalists have vanished — allegedly detained by Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agencies — over the past several years.

The federal government has tried to improve the Balochistan situation in recent months.

It has raised Balochistan’s share of federal tax revenue, passed a constitutional amendment to increase provincial autonomy and approved a package of reforms aimed at addressing local grievances, including the status of missing people and the share of natural resource wealth.

But many Baloch activists predict the promises are unlikely to be honored.