Govt official gunned down, Attack on labourers near Hub, Threat to journalists

Occupied Baluchistan , QUETTA -Unidentified armed assailants gunned down a govt official in Turbat district of Balochistan on Thursday.

According to reports reaching here, Mubin, official of Bridges and Road (B&R) was standing outside his house some 2km away from Turbat town when armed assailants opened firing on him and escaped from the site after committing the crime. As a result, he sustained critical wounds and rushed to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Police after completing the legal formalities handed over the body to heirs and said that it could be an incident of enmity, however, investigation was underway to ascertain real motive behind the killing.

HUB: Unidentified armed men hurled a hand grenade at a vehicle carrying labourers, police said on Thursday. According to police, a vehicle was on its way to the Hub Cement Factory carrying its labourers when armed men threw a hand grenade at it. No loss of life was reported. A case has been registered and the police have started investigation into the case.

KHUZDAR Press Club is being threatened by a militant group incensed by coverage given to nationalist parties and groups in Balochistan. The threat has come from "Baloch Musalla Difa Tanzeem" (BMDT), an outfit said to have claimed responsibility for a hand-grenade attack a month ago at the Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology during an event celebrating Baloch culture. It is now threatening journalists and trying to keep them from covering events related to, or organised by, nationalist parties and groups. Indifference on the part of the media and civil society will surely encourage such violence.

The journalists under threat are mostly district correspondents whose life is not exactly a bed of roses even in ordinary circumstances. They need the support of all those who desire democracy and care about human rights. Threats and oppression in the past have failed to deter our brave journalists and they will fail now. However, this is a matter to be taken very seriously. It calls for a collective stand of the media, civil society and politicians.

Urooj Zia
from Quetta

Source: Dailytimes, The Nation, The News