Quetta, May 12 A leading Baloch student organisation expressed grave concern over the deaths of nearly a dozen labourers in the Kuntani area of Balochistan's Gwadar district while they were reportedly searching for food and work, calling it an example of “extreme state barbarism”.
Describing the incident as a "massacre" carried out by Pakistani forces, the Baloch Students Organization Azad (BSO-Azad) said that the case reflected a broader pattern of Baloch genocide.
“The Baloch civilians living under Pakistani occupation have been deprived of their basic economic rights; they are forced to work in very hard conditions. Previously, the Baloch labourers have been targeted; their vehicles, shops and small businesses have been destroyed while people are being beaten and humiliated on a daily basis,” said the student organisation.
It stated that a similar incident occurred a few months ago in the Jewani area of Gwadar, where two labourers lost their lives.
According to BSO-Azad, the Baloch civilians are being forced to work under extremely harsh conditions, while the government officials, including personnel from the Pakistani Coast Guard, Frontier Corps, Army, Police and other security forces, are allegedly engaged in extorting bribes from the poor drivers and shopkeepers in the area.
The organisation alleged that despite collecting a fixed amount of bribes, the security personnel continue to beat and humiliate the labourers while burning their vehicles and shops, terming such actions as “colonial oppression of the Pakistani state on the Baloch nation".
“The Kuntani massacre is part of broader events of Baloch genocide. The Pakistani occupation state is involved in shedding the blood of innocent Baloch civilians on a daily basis. Every aspect of life in Balochistan has been destroyed, the economic rights have been snatched, and people have been forced to uproot, leading to an economic crisis among the Baloch population," it added.
BSO-Azad urged the people of Balochistan, human rights organisations and other concerned individuals to step forward, resist, protest and highlight the “Kuntani massacre".
In a separate incident in Gwadar, two people were injured in a drone attack near Hotani Bazaar of Dasht Shuleeg area, local media reported, citing sources.
The victims, identified as Sadiq and Majid, were rushed for medical treatment, though no immediate information about their conditions was released, The Balochistan Post reported.
Reports suggest that drone aircraft had been flying continuously over Dasht Shuleeg and nearby areas since Sunday morning, with the attack taking place near Hotani Bazaar.
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