Quetta, Aug 17 (IANS) Two civilians were killed and two others injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated on a civilian logistics vehicle in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, police sources said on Monday.
The incident occurred on Sunday at around 3 p.m. local time in the provincial capital of Quetta, the sources told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity.
The vehicle was carrying water pipeline material when it was targeted by the IED, the police said.
Bodies of the deceased and the injured had been shifted to a hospital in Quetta, according to the sources.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
This comes days after the Pakistani Air Force carried out indiscriminate bombardment in residential areas in the Gidar area of Surab last week, killing over 30 civilians, including women and children and injuring several others, while causing significant damage to properties.
Condemning the attack, Sabiha Baloch, the central leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), said that the incident showed how Pakistan marks its formation and existence through the killing of innocent Baloch civilians, including children, which she described as ” genocide”.
Taking to her social media platform X, Sabiha said, “The affected area is surrounded by Pakistani forces, restricting access for rescue teams, medical staff, ambulances, and journalists. Blocking humanitarian assistance and independent documentation compounds the grave human rights violations and demands immediate international attention.”
“I urge journalists, medical teams, humanitarian organisations, and people around the world to demand immediate access to the affected area and ensure medical assistance reaches survivors,” she added.
Meanwhile, human rights body Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) called for an immediate, independent, transparent and internationally monitored investigation into the incident.
“The identities and details of those killed and injured must be made public, and those responsible must be held accountable. Protecting civilians, particularly women and children, is a fundamental responsibility of the state, and all military operations must comply with international humanitarian law and the principles governing the protection of civilian life,” the BVJ stated.
The rights body further urged the United Nations, UN human rights mechanisms, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and other members of the international community to end their silence over the “violence and war crimes” against civilians in Balochistan by Pakistani forces.
“Families affected by violence in Balochistan have a fundamental right to justice, protection, and the truth about what happened to their loved ones. The continued silence of the international community risks allowing such incidents to occur without accountability,” it noted.
–IANS
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