Pakistani forces have reportedly burned down over 200 goods-carrying vehicles in Nokundi – a town bordering the border of Afghanistan in district Chaghi
Due to the lack of employment in Balochistan, the Baloch youth resort to the dangerous occupation of smuggling goods and oil through the porous Afghanistan and Iran borders. The government has repeatedly cracked down on this trade in the past the recent development appears to be another incident of a government-sponsored effort to put an end to border trade which has become a lifeline for the thousands of unemployed Baloch youngsters.
The viral videos and photos of the arson spread on social media like wildfire. They show a few individuals standing in the dark of the dusk as a massive conflagration rages on in the background. The Pakistani forces reportedly incinerated over 200 vehicles, many of them laden with goods such as powder milk, cold drink and cooking oil, and confiscated about 40.
The motive behind this act is not clear; government officials have not yet commented on the incident.