Key points
- Several police personnel allegedly injured due to stone pelting by protesters
- Administration fully respects the right to peaceful protest: official statement
- Commissioner’s office says lawlessness won’t be tolerated
ISLAMABAD: A day after dispersing protesters of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee in Quetta – Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province’s capital – authorities clarified that the administration did not use any form of shelling during the agitation.
According to a statement issued by the Quetta commissioner’s office, no firearms or rubber bullets were used.
The commissioner’s office stated that protesters pelted stones at police officers, resulting in injuries to several personnel.
“To disperse the crowd, only water cannons were used, which is considered a non-lethal and safe method,” it said.
The commissioner’s office also reiterated that while the administration fully respected the right to peaceful protest, it would not tolerate lawlessness or attacks on state institutions.
Strongly refuted
It strongly refuted reports circulating on social media about shelling and violence, calling them false, baseless, and misleading. The public was urged to avoid believing unverified information and to rely only on official sources for accurate updates.
On the other hand, sources claimed that a violent protest erupted in Quetta as members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, led by Mahrang Baloch, attempted to exploit the bodies of terrorists killed in the Jaffar Express attack for political gain.
Twenty-one passengers, four soldiers and 33 terrorists were killed after heavily armed terrorists attacked a passenger train and held scores hostage in the country’s Balochistan province, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said in a statement after clearance operation.
“When the bodies of the Balochistan Liberation Army militants responsible for the Jaffar Express assault – were brought to Civil Hospital Quetta, Mahrang Baloch and her group stormed the premises instead of condemning the terror attack,” sources said.
The protesters forcibly seized the bodies from hospital authorities and launched demonstrations across the city, they claimed.
“As the Quetta administration and police moved to disperse the protest using water cannons, Baloch Yakjehti Committee-affiliated activists opened fire, injuring both police personnel and their own demonstrators,” sources said.
Roadblock causes inconvenience
Quetta police said in a statement that the roadblock caused severe inconvenience to the public, with travellers from Karachi and other cities stranded.
When authorities attempted to clear the road, protesters allegedly resisted, leading to clashes, they said.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind defended the police action, stating that protesters had unlawfully blocked a national highway, causing disruption.
He claimed that demonstrators attacked law enforcement personnel, injuring 10 people, including police officers and a female constable.
“The government cannot remain a silent spectator if the law is taken into hands to disturb public order,” Rind said, reaffirming that maintaining law and order is the government’s constitutional duty, which will be upheld at all costs.
