At least one person has been killed and seven others injured after security forces reportedly opened fire on participants of the ‘Baloch Raaji Muchi’ (Baloch National Gathering) at Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi Chowk in Gwadar.
Sources at Indus Hospital in Gwadar confirmed the casualties, noting that the injured are being brought in one by one due to road blockages hampering transport. “The condition of many of the injured is serious, and the delay in transportation is making it difficult to provide timely medical aid,” a doctor at the hospital said.
Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch, in a message from Gwadar, stated that security forces are shelling and firing on locals, preventing anyone from entering or leaving the city. “A curfew-like situation has been imposed, and the military crackdown has resulted in one death and several injuries,” she said.
In a related incident, a convoy traveling from Karachi to Gwadar for the gathering has been subjected to multiple incidents of firing by Pakistani security forces. Participants, including women and children, are now stranded at Kund Malir and are reportedly running out of essential supplies.
The convoy, consisting of ten buses, was reportedly fired upon by security forces in Hingol, Buzi Tap, and Kund Malir areas of Balochistan. At Kund Malir, the security forces also punctured the tires, leaving the participants isolated without network coverage. Reports indicate that they are running out of water and food, and forces have prevented them from proceeding or purchasing necessary supplies.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) stated on X that Pakistani security forces have fired multiple times on the convoy and abducted several participants. The Karachi convoy was initially not allowed to leave but managed to cross the barricades at Zero Point after resisting for the entire day.
Additionally, other groups that have reached Gwadar and its surrounding areas have also been encircled by security forces. In a particularly distressing incident, an ambulance carrying a critical patient was stopped by a blockade.
A video has surfaced showing men pleading with the forces to open the road and allow the ambulance to pass. One man in the video is heard saying, “First, you shoot our people with bullets, then you prevent the ambulance from taking them for treatment. You shoot our children and then claim we are all Pakistani. We do not want this Pakistan.”
On Saturday in Mastung, security forces opened fire on the participants of Baloch Raaji Muchi, injuring 14, with one person still in critical condition. Multiple footages from the Mastung incident have emerged, showing Pakistani security forces firing at vehicles of Baloch people traveling to Gwadar. One footage shows a Baloch woman inside a bus with firing marks and broken windows, stating that women and children traveling in the bus were injured. Another footage shows Pakistani forces opening fire directly.
In response to the crackdown, shutter-down strikes and sit-ins continue in Nushki, Dalbandin, Kalat, Mastung, and Quetta. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) condemned the actions of the security forces, emphasizing the peaceful nature of their gathering and demanding the immediate release of detained individuals.
Meanwhile, the Amnesty International has also condemned the violent crackdown on Baloch protestors and urged an immediate end to internet shutdown and road blockades by Pakistani authorities.
Despite the heavy crackdown, the latest footage received by The Balochistan Post from Gwadar shows thousands gathered in the port town to participate in BYC’s ‘Baloch Raaji Muchi.’ This is despite the blockade of several main highways in Balochistan. BYC’s leader, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, is expected to address the event later today.