Quetta: At least one person was killed, and several others, including women and children, were injured in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district in shelling by Pakistani forces, local media reported on Friday citing sources.
Following the incident in the Drakhalaw-Gaslaiti area of Wadh in Khuzdar, local residents staged a sit-in protest on a highway, placing the body of the deceased, identified as Abdul Qadir, at the protest site.
Addressing the demonstration, protesters alleged that the shelling carried out by the Pakistani forces began on Thursday morning and hit a civilian area in Wadh locality, The Balochistan Post reported.
The protesters demanded an impartial investigation into the incident and accountability for those responsible, vowing to continue the sit-in until a transparent inquiry is conducted.
Condemning the incident, Naseem Baloch, chairman of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), took to X and posted: “Shelling of civilian areas, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, custodial deaths, and collective punishment have become a persistent feature of the ongoing conflict, underscoring the urgent need for independent and impartial investigations.”
He stressed that the international community, including the United Nations, independent media, and human rights organisations, should be granted unhindered access to Balochistan to establish the facts, monitor the human rights situation, and ensure transparency and accountability.
On Thursday, human rights organisation Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) expressed grave concern over the prolonged curfews, internet shutdowns, and restrictions on movement imposed by Pakistani authorities across several regions in Balochistan, including Khand Kotcha, Zehri, Naushki, and Jiwani, saying the measures amounted to collective punishment of millions of citizens.
In a statement issued, the Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) said that the enforcement of a curfew in Khand Kotcha until further notice is a "grave restriction on fundamental human rights and civil liberties".
It noted that similar curfews had earlier been imposed in Zehri, Naushki, and Jiwani, confining residents to their homes and severely disrupting daily life.
“Due to the continuous curfews, the supply of medicines, food, and other essential items of life is being affected; patients are unable to reach hospitals in time; students' educational activities have been suspended; the livelihoods of daily wage laborers and the small business class have come to an end; and negative impacts are also being felt on commercial activities, transportation, and communication systems,” the BVJ stated.
“As a result of these collective restrictions, women, children, the elderly, and the sick are facing severe hardships, which are contrary to human dignity and fundamental human rights,” it added.
The rights body further highlighted that the indiscriminate firing by Pakistan’s Frontier Corps and other security forces on passenger buses at the Khand Kotcha location that resulted in the death of innocent citizens was highly alarming.
Calling for impartial investigations into the incident, the BVJ said, “The protection of citizens' lives and property is the state's fundamental constitutional responsibility, and those responsible should be identified through transparent investigations of such incidents and brought to the dock of law.”
--IANS
