New Delhi: Hundreds of people have come on the streets due to army action in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The lives of the families of Mashwani tribe living in Quetta have been badly affected. Due to firing and military action, about 300 families have had to flee their ancestral homes. These people have to spend their days in very difficult conditions.
According to local media reports, displaced people are struggling to get even basic needs like food and water amid the rain and cold. These families have been forced to migrate from Kili Mohammad Khail village of Panjapai area, located south-west of Quetta. Houses here have been damaged due to shelling by security forces and use of heavy weapons. The displaced people include women, children and the elderly. A victim’s family said they had no safe place to go with their children. They don’t even know when they will be able to return to their homes.
Area evacuated after clash
According to the Balochistan Post report, these families are facing acute shortage of food, shelter and clean drinking water. There was a clash between Pakistani security forces and armed people in Kili Mohammad Khail area. It was told that during this time a Frontier Corps soldier was killed. Gunfire was also heard near an Afghan refugee camp. After this the area was surrounded and the people living there were asked to vacate the place.
Party condemned
Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party has condemned this displacement. The party said that the responsibility of the government is not to throw people out of their homes, but to ensure their safety. It is injustice to evict people from their homes and ancestral areas in the name of security. The party demanded the government to provide food, shelter and health services to the displaced families and ensure their safe and dignified return. The party says it is the responsibility of the state to deal with terrorism and extremism, but innocent civilians should not be given collective punishment.
Farmers also have the same complaint
This displacement in Quetta has come to light at a time when farmers of Shadi Kaur area of Gwadar district have also raised similar complaints. They allege that due to restrictions imposed citing security reasons, they are not able to reach their homes and agricultural lands. Many families have already been displaced. Landowners, farmers and sharecroppers are being prevented from accessing their gardens and finished crops. Due to this, agricultural property worth crores of rupees is in danger.
Human rights organization Baloch Yakzehti Committee has also alleged that thousands of families across Balochistan have been forcibly displaced and deprived of their ancestral homes, livelihood and right to live on their land. According to the organization, people from many areas have had to leave their homes and evacuation notices have been given in many more areas.