BNM Urges Activists to Highlight Situation in Mashkai Using #MashkaiUnderSiege on Social Media
QUETTA: The spokesperson of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) has stated that a strict curfew has been imposed in Mashkai, an area of Awaran district in Balochistan, for the past two weeks.
According to the BNM, markets, shops, hospitals, and educational institutions in Mashkai have remained closed, while residents are confined to their homes under a military siege. People are unable to go to their fields, orchards, or carry out their daily activities.
The spokesperson said that the military occasionally permits Gujjar and a few other small markets to open for only one hour during the day under its supervision. During this limited period, only residents of nearby settlements are able to purchase food and other necessities, while inhabitants of remote villages remain deprived of this opportunity and face severe difficulties in obtaining basic necessities of life.
He further stated that even during the Eid period, the military did not allow residents to leave their homes to purchase Eid gifts or other essential items. Due to the strict restrictions, most families were also unable to perform animal sacrifices on Eid al-Adha.
According to the statement, the Pakistani military summons residents of small towns and entire villages to military camps in the morning and keeps them there until the evening, where they are allegedly subjected to mental and physical abuse.
The BNM spokesperson further claimed that, during the past year alone, more than twenty people in Mashkai were allegedly killed under torture after being summoned to military camps or taken into custody by the Pakistani military. He added that several residents have also allegedly been arrested and killed during the current year.
He stated that the brutality of the Pakistani state has reached such an extent that, after arresting and killing residents of Mashkai, their bodies are allegedly desecrated, and in some cases burned, in order to destroy evidence and spread fear among the population.
In conclusion, the spokesperson said that the Baloch National Movement warns international human rights organizations that unless notice is taken of the undeclared curfew in Mashkai and several other areas of Balochistan, the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region will further worsen.
The BNM also appealed to Baloch political and human rights activists to raise awareness of the situation in Mashkai on social media using the hashtag #MashkaiUnderSiege and help bring attention to the ongoing crisis.
