KHUZDAR, BALOCHISTAN: At least four people were killed and three women critically injured after Pakistani Army personnel opened indiscriminate fire on a residential area near Sonaro Pat stream in Wadh tehsil, Khuzdar.
The incident has sparked intense tension in the area, with residents blocking the main highway to all traffic in protest.
Sources said troops opened unprovoked and indiscriminate fire late at night, targeting a local village near the Sonaro Pat stream in Wadh. Four people were killed on the spot in the firing, while three women inside their homes were struck by bullets and critically injured.
The incident triggered widespread anger among residents. Local people and those from surrounding areas staged a protest with the bodies of the victims and blocked the main highway, bringing all commercial and commuter traffic in the area to a complete halt.
Protesters have demanded immediate and strict action against the personnel involved in the attack on unarmed civilians and called for an end to what they described as an ongoing pattern of violent actions in the area.
Balochistan National Party (BNP) Central Executive Committee member and Chairman Wahid Baloch strongly condemned the incident, calling it deeply distressing. He said the victims were poor, peaceful, working-class residents who have lived in the area for generations, and alleged their only “fault” was being voters and supporters of Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal.
Wahid Baloch further claimed that the Sonaro area holds valuable chromite and iron ore deposits and alleged that local residents have long feared being forcibly displaced from their ancestral land through intimidation to allow control over these resources. He said such attempts to displace communities from their native areas over political affiliation or resource control were unacceptable.
He added that the state is responsible for protecting citizens’ lives, property, and basic rrights and warned that using force against the local population would deepen feelings of deprivation and distrust in Balochistan.
