Pakistani drone strike, firing by Frontier Corps critically injures four civilians in Balochistan’s Mastung

Quetta, Oct 12 (IANS) At least four civilians were critically injured in two separate incidents involving a Pakistani drone strike and Frontier Corps (FC) firing in Balochistan’s Mastung district, a leading human rights organisation said.

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) accused Pakistani forces of turning Balochistan into a “battlefield of fire and fear”, alleging that drone strikes and aerial bombings targeting civilian populations amounted to open “state aggression”.

The rights body said that a Pakistani drone strike outside a civilian residence in the Khad Kocha area of Mastung on October 9 left two civilians Javed Hammad and Allah Bakhsh severely injured.

Condemning the incident, it said, such attacks near civilian homes and settlements raise the fundamental question of how long the lives of ordinary people in Balochistan will remain under the shadow of fear, violence, and insecurity.

“Attacks on civilian populations in Balochistan via drones and jet aircraft are not merely a matter of security operations, but a grave issue concerning the protection of citizens, human dignity, and fundamental rights. No political or military justification can be allowed to overlook the lives and safety of ordinary citizens. Transforming homes into symbols of fear and settlements into war zones endangers people's basic right to life and security,” the BYC stated.

“The people of Balochistan are not military targets; they are human beings who have the right to peace, protection, and a dignified life. The chain of attacks on civilian populations must end, injured citizens must receive justice, and accountability for those responsible must be ensured through independent investigations of such incidents,” it added.

In another incident on October 4, heavy firing by FC near Zakir Hotel on the Singar Bypass in Mastung left two young men from Paringabad critically injured.

The victims were identified as Muhammad Ismail and Muhammad Zahir.

“Zakir Hotel has been shut down by the FC for about a month and turned into a checkpoint. Along with it, 12 shops, a block factory, a tile factory, and other businesses nearby have been closed, cutting off the livelihoods of dozens of families. For some time now, life in Mastung has become hell. Mutilated bodies have been dumped by the roadside, fruit orchards cut down, families displaced, drones have struck, and now open firing is killing and wounding Baloch people,” the BYC stated.

The rights body called on international organisations and human rights defenders to recognise the Baloch genocide by the Pakistani forces and hold Pakistan accountable, warning that “otherwise, Balochistan will be pushed into a land of bloodshed.”

--IANS

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