At least seven civilians, including women and children, were injured after mortar shells fired by Pakistani armed forces struck residential areas in Awaran district of Balochistan on Friday, local sources said.
Eyewitnesses said multiple mortar rounds landed in a populated area, hitting several houses and a nearby market where families were present at the time. The injured were taken to hospital by local residents, with the condition of some reported to be critical.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan’s military authorities regarding the incident.
Rights group Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) said the shells landed inside a populated market area where families were present, creating panic among residents carrying out routine activities.
In a statement, the group said the attack reflected a “consistent pattern of force used against unarmed civilians in Balochistan,” adding that women and children continued to be the most affected.
The group said that communities in Awaran had already faced repeated raids, checkpoints and cases of enforced disappearance, and said the use of heavy weapons in a civilian market showed a “clear disregard for civilian safety and basic humanitarian standards.”
BVJ called for urgent intervention by international human rights institutions, demanding independent and transparent investigations to identify those responsible and immediate medical assistance for all injured civilians.
The incident adds to a series of cases in which civilians have been harmed during military operations in different parts of Balochistan.
At the end of November, several mortar rounds struck homes in the Hoshab area of Kech district, injuring five girls. One of them later died while being transferred to Karachi for treatment, local sources said.
In September, Pakistani forces carried out multiple drone strikes during a military operation in Khuzdar district, including in Zehri tehsil and the Moola area, killing at least 11 people and injuring nine others.
The Pakistani military later confirmed the drone strikes in Zehri, claiming that members of a Baloch “pro-independence” armed group had been targeted. However, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Amnesty International rejected those claims, raising concerns about civilian casualties and the absence of independent investigations.
Amnesty International urged the Pakistani government to “end the use of indiscriminate force in populated areas,” while the HRCP said civilians, including children, were killed when a wedding ceremony came under attack. The commission has repeatedly called on federal and provincial authorities to launch “immediate, transparent and independent inquiries” into military actions resulting in civilian loss of life.