Strike in Balochistan: Two killed, four injured near Sibi

Security officials say they fired "blank shots in the air", eyewitnesses say casualties result of straight firing.

QUETTA: Two people were killed and four injured in what was reported to be firing by security personnel near Sibi on Saturday.

According to reports, a large number of people had blocked the Sindh-Balochistan Highway near Nari Bridge in Sibi district during the strike called by Baloch Republican Party (BRP).

The demonstrators stopped a convoy of security forces passing through the highway, who fired when they refused to open the road for normal traffic. One man was killed and five were injured as a result of the firing.

Security forces claim that they fired "blank shots in the air", but eyewitnesses claim that the casualties took place when the personnel resorted to “straight firing” after warning the demonstrators.

The bodies and injured were shifted to a nearby state-run hospital, where one of the injured passed away. The deceased were identified as Bando Khan Domki and Ahmed Khan Domki. A cameraman of private TV channel Aaj is also among the injured.

A complete shutter down strike is being observed in parts of Balochistan on the call of BRP to protest the killing of Baramdagh Bugti’s sister and niece in Karachi. The flow of traffic between Quetta and Karachi has also been suspended as a result of the strike.