Three security personnel killed

QUETTA: Three security personnel were shot dead in two separate incidents of firing in Awaran and Khuzdar districts of Balochistan on Monday.

According to official sources, two Levies personnel, identified as Karim Dad and Zahoor Ahmed, were on their way home from Awaran Bazaar when unknown motorcyclists opened fire on them near the Pirnawa area. The two received multiple bullets on their upper torsos and died on the spot. The attackers escaped from the scene. The bodies were taken to the Civil Hospital Awaran for autopsy.  An official told The Express Tribune that it could be a case of domestic dispute.  Police have registered a case and started investigation.

Separately, a paramilitary FC solider was gunned down in Khuzdar district, some 300 kilometres from the provincial capital. Sources said that two motorcyclists opened fire on the soldier, killing him on the spot. The victim belonged to the Sargodha district of Punjab. “It could be a case of target killing,” a senior police officer said. Balochistan has been in the grip of violence where Baloch nationalists have been calling for greater political and financial autonomy. The PPP-led government has announced the Aghaz-e-Haquq-e-Balochistan package to do away with the long-embedded sense of deprivation among local population. However, most nationalist parties are not satisfied with the package.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2010.