Pakistani forces escalate operations in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district

Quetta, July 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) As Pakistani security forces continued ground and air operations across several parts of Balochistan's Khuzdar district, shelling in the Wadh area killed another person, local media reported on Monday, citing sources.

Military helicopters carried out strikes in multiple locations in the Surgarh area of Ornach in Khuzdar, while aerial surveillance and flights over the region continued. Ground and aerial operations have been ongoing in Wadh, Ornach and Zehri over the past few days, The Balochistan Post reported.

The developments come amid intensified military operations in several parts of Balochistan targeting civilian areas.

Last week, one person was killed, and several others, including women and children, were injured in Khuzdar during shelling by Pakistani forces,

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 the morning of July 23 and reportedly hit a civilian area in Wadh locality.

Highlighting the atrocities against civilians in Balochistan, human rights body Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) revealed that a 14-year-old student, Shehzad, resident of Paroom region in Panjgur district, was extrajudicially killed by Pakistan-backed death squads on July 25, after more than a year of being subjected to enforced disappearance.

“For more than a year, his family waited in anguish, hoping he would return home safely. Instead, they were met with the devastating news of his killing by death squads that operate with complete impunity, backed by the Pakistani army,” the BYC stated.

The rights body alleged that the Pakistani authorities, along with their agencies and state-backed death squads, "have crossed every limit of violation", targeting women, children, and every individual of the Baloch community.

“They have abandoned the rules, the laws, and even the constitution of their own country, which they instead weaponise against peaceful political activists who raise their voices against state brutality,” it added.

Furthermore, the Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) mentioned that another student activist, Younas Baloch, was taken from his home in provincial capital Quetta by Pakistani security forces on July 25 and transferred to an unknown location.

Since then, it said, his family has established no contact with him, and his whereabouts remain unknown.

“Reports that an 8-year-old child from his family has been placed on the Fourth Schedule are deeply concerning and raise serious concerns regarding the protection of fundamental rights,” the BVJ stated.

Balochistan continues to reel under relentless atrocities by the Pakistani forces, marked by enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch civilians at an unprecedented level.

Source: IANS