Lady constable martyred in Turbat

QUETTA:

A lady police constable was martyred while her husband and child sustained injuries after unidentified armed men opened fire on them in Balochistan's Kech district on Saturday, prompting a major security response and strong condemnation from provincial authorities.

The attack took place in Turbat's Absar area near the research farm, where Lady Constable Shakila was travelling to the market on a motorcycle along with her husband, Sunil Jan, and their child when assailants reportedly intercepted them and opened indiscriminate fire, police said.

According to police officials, Shakila was martyred on the spot, while her husband and child suffered serious injuries in the attack. Soon after the incident, police and rescue teams rushed to the scene and shifted the body and the injured to the hospital.

Authorities said a case had been registered and a search operation launched to trace those involved in the attack. Security was also tightened across the area, with additional checkpoints established and surveillance intensified on the entry and exit routes of the city.

In a separate act of violence in the Killi Mengal vicinity of Noshki, unidentified attackers shot and killed Professor Ghamkhwar Hayat, a prominent academic and Brahui language poet.

Cultural and educational circles have widely condemned his assassination, with provincial authorities calling it a deliberate attempt to sabotage Balochistan's academic and literary identity.