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Quetta, February 3 (IANS) A leading human rights organisation on Tuesday strongly condemned the killing of unarmed civilians, including a minor child, in a Pakistani military drone strike, targeting residential areas in Balochistan.
According to Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ), the attack on February 1 in Killi Jamaldini region of Nushki district struck civilians while they were inside their homes, with women and elderly persons among the victims.
"The killing of unarmed civilians, including a child, constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Such acts are prohibited under the Geneva Conventions and amount to a war crime," the rights body stated.
The BVJ called for independent and transparent investigations and accountability under international law.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) described the situation across Balochistan as extremely alarming, noting that the ongoing internet shutdown has made it nearly impossible to verify information or obtain accurate casualty figures.
The rights body cited disturbing reports emerging from several districts across the province, including Kech, Gwadar, and Nushki, where dozens of civilians, including women and children, are reportedly killed due to indiscriminate firing by Pakistani security forces.
The HRCB said that the claims by the provincial government that over 150 militants were killed sharply contradict accounts from other sources.
"This lack of transparency is deeply concerning. The government must release full details and identities of those it says were killed," it noted.
Expressing concern over Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti's claim that more than 1,000 militants were killed last year, the HRCB said, "Given the long-established pattern of people being killed in custody and later labelled as militants killed in 'encounters', these claims cannot be accepted at face value."
Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, on Monday brought to light the enforced disappearances of another seven civilians at the hands of Pakistani forces.
The rights body mentioned that on Monday morning, 25-year-old Meeran, a fisherman, was taken into custody from the Sohrabi Ward area of Gwadar district in the province by the Pakistan Army.
He was taken to an undisclosed location, and his whereabouts remain unknown to his family.
Paank revealed that 20-year-old Umair Baloch, a student, was forcibly disappeared on February 1 from the provincial capital Quetta by personnel of Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).
The rights body also strongly condemned the enforced disappearance of two brothers, 29-year-old Balach Yousuf and 25-year-old Beebarg Yousuf, during a raid on their home on January 23 in Gwadar.
Citing local sources and the family, Paank said that the raid was carried out by the local death squad and the Pakistan Army, who forcibly took both brothers to an undisclosed location.
In a separate incident, a large contingent of the Pakistani army raided multiple houses in the Hub Chowki region in Balochistan, while forcibly disappearing Retired Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Bakhsh Sajidi, his brother Naeem Sajidi, and Engineer Rafeeq Baloch, the former Chief of Sui Gas in the province.
