A seriously ill man travelling from Gwadar to Karachi for medical treatment died aboard a passenger coach after what family members and passengers described as repeated checkpoint delays and diesel unloading during the journey.
The deceased was identified as Jam Abdul Qayyum, son of Abdul Rasheed, a resident of Basholi in Dasht.
According to family members, Abdul Qayyum was suffering from a serious illness and left Gwadar for Karachi on Wednesday morning on a Javed Double Decker Coach to seek medical treatment.
Relatives and passengers alleged that the coach was stopped repeatedly at several Pakistani forces checkpoints along the route, including Badok, Hingol and other locations on the Makuran Coastal Highway.
They said the vehicle was later stopped again after entering Karachi, including at Mawach Goth and on the Super Highway.
Passengers alleged that the coach remained parked on the Super Highway for nearly an hour while diesel was unloaded, during which Abdul Qayyum’s condition deteriorated.
According to his family, he required urgent medical attention and needed to be transferred to hospital without delay, but repeated stoppages prevented him from receiving timely treatment. He died aboard the coach before reaching hospital, they said.
The incident has renewed concerns among travellers over long delays on passenger routes between Balochistan and Sindh, particularly at checkpoints and during alleged loading or unloading of Iranian diesel.
Passengers and local sources allege that buses and coaches are often stopped at multiple points by personnel linked to Pakistani forces, Coast Guards and police, where drivers are asked for payments over diesel being transported on passenger vehicles.
Family members said the prolonged stoppages may have contributed to Abdul Qayyum’s death and called for a transparent investigation into the conduct of the coach administration and staff.
They also urged authorities to investigate allegations that passenger coaches operating between Balochistan and Sindh are being used to transport illegal diesel, saying commercial activity should not be allowed to endanger passengers or delay those in need of emergency medical care.
The family demanded that responsibility be fixed if negligence by the coach management, staff or any other party is established.
The coach management and authorities have not issued an immediate public statement on the family’s allegations, the reported checkpoint delays or the claims regarding diesel transportation.