Pakistani Army turned Balochistan’s Nushki into ‘open-air prison’, killed 9 civilians: Rights body

Quetta, Aug 5 (IANS) The Baloch National Movement (BNM) alleged that as many as nine civilians have been killed and dozens forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces in Balochistan’s Nushki district over the past few days, as the region has remained under military siege for several months.

Expressing grave concern over the deteriorating situation in Nushki, the BNM said, “Pakistan Army has stripped civilians of their freedom of movement, effectively turning the entire region into an ‘open-air prison’. Nushki is among the districts that have been subjected to an intense military blockade for months. As a result, daily life has been severely disrupted, while the transportation system has come to a near standstill.”

“During the past week alone, the Pakistan Army has killed at least nine people and forcibly disappeared dozens of others,” it added.

The BNM said that the blockade has also resulted in acute shortages of medicines and essential food supplies, with children, the elderly, and the sick bearing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis.

The group further said that the Pakistani Army, taking advantage of the curfew, broke into shops in the local market, looted businesses, and damaged civilian property.

“Passenger and cargo vehicles have been barred from entering or leaving the region, while even ambulances transporting critically ill patients to hospitals have been prevented from passing,” it added.

According to BNM, “these measures constitute one of the harshest forms of collective punishment imposed by the Pakistani state in Balochistan.”

Asserting that the Pakistan Army is facing defeat in its confrontation with the “Baloch movement”, the group said, “The growing momentum of the Baloch struggle for independence has left the Pakistan Army demoralised and psychologically weakened. In an attempt to restore its declining morale, the Pakistan Army has resorted to false propaganda, portraying attacks on unarmed civilians as victories against the Baloch movement.”

The BNM stressed that the people of Balochistan must stand firm and demonstrate resilience amid the ongoing atrocities by Pakistani forces.

“Freedom is the destiny of the Baloch nation, and the Pakistan Army is approaching a decisive and humiliating defeat on the Balochistan front,” it noted.

Last week, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) criticised Pakistani authorities for the military siege and curfew in Nushki, terming it a “continuation of the state’s policy of collectively punishing the Baloch people”.

It urged the international community to take notice of the situation in Balochistan, especially Nushki, and play an effective role in ending the state’s unchecked power and grave human rights violations.

–IANS

scor/sd/