Chief Minister vows to take action against the killings. PHOTO: FILE
Gunmen shot dead 19 people after pulling them off Karachi-bound passenger coaches on Friday night in Khad Kocha, a mountainous region in Mastung. Three other injured men died of their injuries later.
The Balochistan government announced three days of mourning in Quetta and a shutter down for Sunday, in what the chief minister described as a message for all ethnic groups to stand united.
The victims’ families had taken the bodies to the Governor House where they staged a sit-in, demanding strict action against the perpetrators. Security was tightened after some protesters tried to enter the high-security zone.
Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch later came out and told the protesters that the government shared their grief and would not rest till the terrorists were eliminated. He appealed to the relatives to bury the dead as per Islamic rituals and announced Rs1 million for each family who had lost a loved one.
After successful negotiations, the families ended their demonstration and took away the bodies to their native villages of Pishin, Chaman and Qilla Abdullah for burial.
Soon after, Baloch, at a press conference, said his government would soon convene an all-parties conference in Quetta to discuss the security situation on the province’s highways. He said he had discussed the situation with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who had assured him that he and the army chief would also take part in the conference.
“The attack on the Pashtoon community is clearly meant to fuel hatred between Pashtoons and the Baloch, who have been living together peacefully for centuries,” he said.
Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti blamed India’s spy agency Research and Analysis Wing for the grisly massacre and said it was aimed at destabilising Pakistan.
“We have concrete evidence that there is an Indian involvement,” he said, adding that security forces killed seven ‘terrorists’ during a search operation in the area.
Meanwhile, the Balochistan Assembly passed a unanimous resolution condemning the Mastung incident. On the other hand, A security conference held at the Southern Command headquarters discussed the incident in detail and vowed to keep in check any similar attack in the future.
The meeting was presided by Major General Naveed Hayat Khan and was attended by Balochistan IGP, AIG, Quetta commissioner, and top army and civilian officers, according to an ISPR press release.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 31st, 2015.
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