The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) organized a protest in front of the Balochistan provincial assembly in Quetta on Monday, condemning the killing of a boy in Chaman by the security forces and demanding an end to “state atrocities” on Pashtuns.
The protest came in the wake of a horrific border clash between Pashtun traders and the Pakistani security forces at the Friendship Gate on the Pak-Afghan Border near Chaman on Sunday. A young boy killed in the crossfire and several others were wounded. The dead body was laid out in front of the provincial assembly during the protest and was later buried when the authorities did not respond.
Sources say that the traders, who travel through the border on foot, exchanged hot words with the border security forces. The traders reportedly gathered at the Gate and urged the security forces to open the Gate, but the forces refused. The clash then turned violent and the forces started indiscriminate firing to scatter the protestors. Several were wounded in the incident and a boy named Matiullah was killed at the scene. The protestors torched several government buildings. As of today, the death toll has risen to two.
The border situation still remains tense and volatile. The border has been manned and the forces have been put on high alert.
“Strongly condemn FC’s firing on unarmed civilians in Chaman. Security forces continue to attack our people mercilessly. What laws allow the FC to open fire on unarmed civilians? Will the FC personnel who attacked civilians be arrested and prosecuted? #StateTerrorismInChaman”, PTM leader Mohsin Dawar tweeted on Sunday in the wake of the incident.
The slain boy’s body was laid out in a protest but was later buried after the authorities did not respond.
In the wake of the border clash, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement organized a protest against “state atrocities” in front of the provincial assembly in Quetta. The protestors staged a sit-in and demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits.
“PTM is protesting in front of the provincial assembly in Quetta against #StateAtrocitiesInChaman. This is not the first time the FC has killed civilians in Chaman. We demand the killers to be arrested and prosecuted. We demand justice”, Dawar tweeted.
A similar clash had also occurred on the Chaman border earlier this year which left three people dead and more than 20 others critically wounded.