On June 1, Monday, protests swept southeastern Balochistan in Pakistan following the murder of a young woman last week. Protesters holding placards congregated at Dannuk and marched towards Shaheed Fida chowk in Turbat region of Kech district, raising slogans against those involved in the attack.
During an armed robbery, reportedly carried out by local goons, a young woman named Malik Naz was fired upon inside her house on May 27. Her four-year-old girl daughter, Bramsh, was critically injured. Naz succumbed to bullet injuries and her daughter is being treated at a Karachi hospital.
It has been alleged that the attack was carried out by people affiliated to the ruling party in Balochistan. A report by Balochistan Affairs stated, “the perpetrators behind the attack were apprehended and identified as members of a local death squad led by the Sameer Sabzal, who is also a member of Balochistan Awami Party.”
Activists groups based in the region have announced #JusticeForBramsh rallies in cities across Pakistan, including Washuk, Passini, Khoddan, Quetta and Karachi in the coming days.
President of Balochistan National Party, Akhtar Mangal, wrote on Twitter that killing innocent children, young students, elderly and women in Balochistan is not even considered a crime. “Will there ever be justice for Bramsh and her mother. Or will the Baloch people be left on the mercy of the establishment’s proxies,” he responded to the news of the incident.
Balochistan’s Kech district has witnessed many incidents of gang violence. Residents say perpetrators of most of these incidents go scot-free.
