Pakistan: Four killed, five injured in Balochistan attacks

Balochistan: Four people were killed and five others sustained injuries in three separate attacks in two districts of the Balochistan province of Pakistan on Sunday, local media reported.

According to a Pakistani publication, the Dawn, officials confirmed that the attacks took place in the Nasirabad and Washuk districts of Balochistan. In the first attack, a seven-year-old child and a man were killed after unidentified men broke into a house in the Goth Mundar area of Nasirabad's Chatar tehsil and opened fire at them.

The assistants used automatic weapons, the official said.

The deceased and injured were shifted to the district hospital in Dera Murad Jamali town of the Nasirabad district. The dead were identified as Shanela, (7) and Samandar Ali Banger, (35), whereas the injured included Noor Jahan, Akhtar Ali, Ahmed Ali, Shabila and Farhan, reported Dawn.
In another similar incident, two people were killed in separate attacks in the Mashkel area of the Washuk district, reported Dawn.

According to the Assistant Commissioner, Zahid Shahwani three armed men on a motorcycle opened fire at a man and ran away.

"Three men were riding a motorbike when armed men opened fire and killed a person named Muhammad Bilal. A suspect was already in custody while the Levies force was searching for other attackers," he added.

The other attack took place in the Bugg area where robbers killed truck driver Badr-i-Alam over resistance. They also took away his Iranian-made Zamyad vehicle loaded with Iranian oil. The driver, critically injured in the knife attack, later died of injuries while being moved to a hospital, reported Dawn.

According to several reports, innocent Balochs are killed in fake encounters and their mutilated bodies are found in remote places.

Forceful abductions are being carried out in Balochistan since the early 2000s.

An annual report of the Human Rights Council of Balochistan, which is an organisation that documents human rights violations in the province, has said that students remain the main target of these kidnappings both in Balochistan as well as in other regions of Pakistan. The victims also include several political activists, journalists, teachers, doctors, poets, and lawyers.

In July, Pakistani security forces forcibly abducted 45 persons including 10 students. Fifteen people were released later while the whereabouts of 35 people remain unknown.

July witnessed an increase in the cases of killings as compared to the previous months.
Human Rights Council of Balochistan documented 48 cases of killings, including five women while fourteen bodies remained unidentified. (ANI)