QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN: Khalil Baloch, former Chairman of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), has said that the bombing of unarmed people and the civilian population by Pakistani military Jets in Sorab is an extremely grave war crime and the worst violation of human values.
More than twenty people have been killed in the attack, including women and children, while numerous others were injured, he said. According to Khalil Baloch, this is not merely the killing of over twenty people but a clear message being sent to the entire Baloch civilian population that they are not safe even in their own homes and cities.
He said the use of air power against a civilian population is an open violation of international laws of war and human values, making a free and impartial international investigation essential. Sorab, he noted, is not a mountain front or a guerrilla camp, it is a city where ordinary people live with their families.
He said that over the past two decades, the Pakistani military has repeatedly carried out bombings with jets in various areas of Balochistan; however, previous airstrikes had mostly targeted mountainous regions and remote settlements. What happened in Sorab, he said, amounts to crossing an extremely dangerous line, with jets now directed straight at the civilian population, a sign, in his view, that the Pakistani military believes it faces neither legal consequences, nor concern for human values, nor any effective global response.
Khalil Baloch further said that the Pakistani military’s denial of the incident and presentation of an alternative narrative does not diminish the severity of the crime. He said the world should not rely solely on the military’s version of events, arguing that more than twenty deaths, injured people and affected families are facts that speak for themselves. He said that relying only on the Pakistani military’s narrative, without hearing the voices of Sorab’s victims, would add to what he described as ongoing injustice against the Baloch nation.
He called on the international community, the United Nations, and international human rights organizations not to dismiss the Sorab incident as an isolated event. He demanded an immediate, independent and international investigation, access for impartial observers and journalists to the affected area and accountability for those responsible.
He warned that if the Pakistani state faces no effective global response after using fighter jets against a civilian population, this silence would not only bury one incident, but pave the way for further attacks.
