Islamabad: Tensions in Balochistan have escalated following the recent train hijacking incident. After the attack, the Pakistan Army brought several bodies of alleged insurgents to a civil hospital in Quetta. Their Baloch relatives demanded permission to identify the bodies, but the authorities refused. As a result, protesters began demonstrating, and despite police baton charges, they stormed the hospital mortuary and forcibly took away several bodies.
What Happened?
According to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, it remains unclear whether the protesters identified the bodies as their missing relatives. Hospital officials stated that members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) forcibly entered the mortuary and took away at least five bodies. Officials claim that these were unidentified bodies of insurgents killed in a counterattack by the Pakistan Army after the Jaffer Express train attack.
Police Baton Charge and Clashes
In an attempt to stop the protesters, police used batons, injuring at least two women. Several demonstrators, including women, were also arrested. However, as the crowd grew, the police appeared helpless, and protesters managed to reach the mortuary and take away the bodies.
Later, police conducted raids across Quetta and managed to recover three of the bodies, but several others remain with the protesters. This incident has further fueled unrest in Balochistan, highlighting the growing resentment against the Pakistani authorities in the region.
