Pakistani airstrikes in Balochistan kill 6, injure three civilians: Rights group

Quetta, Oct 14 (IANS) At least six Baloch civilians, including four children, were killed and three others critically injured in an aerial bombardment by the Pakistani Army in the Zehri region of Balochistan, a leading human rights organisation said on Tuesday.

This has been facing a severe human rights crisis amid weeks of military operations.

Expressing grave concern, Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, mentioned that the aerial bombardment on October 5 targeted the Moola Pass area of Charhi in the Zehri region, resulting in the death of six civilians.

According to the rights body, those killed have been identified as Manzoor Ahmed, his two children, his nephew, and Bibi Rahima, along with her child. The injured included Rahima's daughter and son, reportedly in critical condition.

Paank strongly criticised the brutal attack on civilians and called for an immediate independent investigation to ensure accountability for "these grave violations of human rights".

Condemning the killing of innocent civilians, another human rights body, Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ), said, "This incident constitutes a grave violation of fundamental human rights and has spread fear and anguish throughout the local population. The deliberate use of force against unarmed civilians is unacceptable under any circumstances."

Furthermore, the rights body appealed to international human rights organisations, including the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, to conduct a transparent, independent, and impartial investigation into the "ongoing state brutality" in Zehri.

Earlier on Monday, raising alarm over the situation in Zehri, Tara Chand, President of Baloch American Congress, asserted that the "cruel" Pakistani Army is not fighting "armed combatants" but targeting ordinary citizens.

Chand accused the Pakistani forces of demolishing homes, bombing residential areas, and spreading unbearable suffering among innocent families. He added that people of Zehri have been deprived of the most basic necessities, including water, food, medicine, and education.

Taking to X, the Baloch leader said, "The world must open its eyes to what is happening in Zehri to the cruelty and oppression being inflicted upon innocent people. We appeal to the international community to stand with the people of Balochistan, for the Pakistani Army is committing grave atrocities in our land."

--IANS

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