Several women were injured on Wednesday after Pakistani police baton-charged families gathered outside Quetta’s Civil Hospital, where relatives had assembled to identify bodies brought in by security forces.
The violence broke out when families of forcibly disappeared persons, accompanied by political and human rights activists, attempted to enter the hospital to view the bodies. Pakistani forces had transferred 23 unidentified bodies to the hospital three days earlier.
Eyewitnesses said the police used force without warning.
“A large number of people, including women, children, and the elderly, had gathered peacefully to identify the bodies,” one witness said. “Suddenly, police began baton-charging the crowd, injuring several women.”
Tensions escalated further after reports emerged that 13 of the unidentified bodies had been buried under mysterious circumstances at Quetta’s Kasi graveyard late Tuesday night.
Local residents said they saw police and official vehicles arrive at the graveyard, hastily bury the bodies, and then leave. The secretive nature of the burial has deepened fears among families, who suspect their missing loved ones could be among those buried without identification.
Following sustained protests and public outcry, authorities eventually allowed some families into the hospital on Wednesday evening. Five bodies were subsequently identified and handed over to their relatives.