Oct 19, 2016

Balochistan: Three Civilians Killed in Military Air Strikes


Foto courtesy of Al Jazeera

On 17 October 2016, three Baloch civilians have reportedly been killed during a Pakistani military operation in Nasirabad district, Balochistan. The Pakistani military deployed assault helicopters to strike indiscriminately at several villages. During the attack, an unknown number of civilians were abducted, adding to the already 20,000 victims of enforced disappearances, of which many continue to be tortured in military detention.

Below is an article published by The Times of India:

Three civilians have been allegedly killed by indiscriminate firing by Pakistan forces in Balochistan's Nasirabad district, Times Now reported on Monday citing sources.

Earlier today [17 October 2016], the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) alleged that bombarding by choppers had killed one Baloch civilian - Lalu Bugti. Several others had been abducted, it added.

"Pakistani forces launched military operations in Chattar, Sherani, Hoti, and adjacent areas of Nasirabad...Helicopters have indiscriminately bombarded the area, killing an innocent Baloch civilian," the party's spokesperson Sher Mohammed Bugti was quoted as saying by ANI.

Pakistan forces had also "conduct(ed) military operations in (the) Goburd area of Mand, Balochistan, and abducted many Baloch people," he said.

The BRP, which is currently banned in Pakistan, also said in a press release that Pakistan had been conducting military operations in Dilband and Nagahi areas of Kalat for three days.

In Kalat, Pakistan forces abducted "an innocent Baloch civilian" - Mubarak Bugti - and hanged him upside down from a tree for a whole night, before taking him into custody along with his family, the BRP said.

"Two dead bodies were found in Nagahi area, but the whereabouts of the abductees, including women and children, remains undisclosed," it added.

Pakistan's alleged human rights violations in Balochistan have been widely reported. The Balochistan Freedom movement - a group of pro-Baloch freedom activists who have recently organised protests outside the UN headquarters - claim that over 5,000 Baloch people have been killed in custody by Pakistani forces, allegedly as part of a 'kill-and-dump' policy. They also claim that 20,000 Baloch have been abducted, of which many continue to face torture.