Balochistan [Pakistan], October 18 (ANI): Residents of Zehri tehsil in Khuzdar district have accused the Pakistani military of carrying out indiscriminate air and drone strikes that have killed civilians, including women and children, amid a siege that has continued for over a month.
The strikes have devastated several villages, leaving families trapped without food, water, or medical aid under an indefinite curfew, according to The Balochistan Post.
A grieving father was seen mourning beside the bodies of his children, killed on October 5 when army helicopters bombed the Moola area as families were returning from a funeral. “Six people were martyred, four of them children,” he said. “What crime did they commit? Were they hiding in the mountains?” The man rejected official claims that militants were targeted, asserting that all victims were civilians.
The ongoing operation involves tanks, artillery, drones, and helicopter gunships. More than a dozen civilians have been killed so far. The Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) reported that the siege began in early September after clashes between Baloch fighters and government forces. In response, the military launched widespread raids, blocked roads, and cut off communications, isolating entire communities.
HRCB stated that these “retaliatory” strikes have disproportionately affected civilians. It documented several attacks, including a September 15 airstrike that killed three villagers, a September 17 drone attack that killed four people, including two women, and an October 1 strike near cotton fields that claimed four more lives.
Thousands of residents reportedly remain trapped as hospitals struggle to cope and farmlands lie destroyed. Former Balochistan Chief Minister Akhtar Mengal condemned the actions as “state cruelty” and urged authorities to lift the curfew and halt military aggression.
Sabiha Baloch of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee called the siege a “blatant violation of international law,” according to The Balochistan Post. The BYC and the Baloch Students Organisation-Azad accused Pakistan of committing “systematic genocide” against the Baloch people, while political groups urged global intervention.
Rights groups warn that Zehri’s ordeal reflects a worsening pattern of repression and unchecked military violence across Balochistan, The Balochistan Post reported. (ANI)
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