Panjgur DC killed, 4 others injured in firing on Quetta Karachi highway

Quetta (Balochistan) [Pakistan], August 13 : Panjgur Deputy Commissioner Zakir Hussain Baloch was killed and four others were injured in a firing incident on the Quetta-Karachi National Highway near Mastung on Monday, according to officials, Dawn reported.
The DC along with Panjgur Municipal Committee chairman Abdul Malik Baloch were on the way to Quetta when unknown assailants opened fire at their vehicle near Khadkocha, Mastung.
Baloch succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at Shaheed Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Memorial Hospital in Mastung, the hospital's chief executive, Dr Saeed Ahmed said, according to Dawn.
Dr Ahmed said that Baloch was hit by bullets in the chest and stomach that caused internal bleeding leading to his death.
According to Dawn, the Panjgur Municipal Committee chairman also received multiple bullet injuries and has been shifted to Quetta for treatment. He is the younger brother of National Party Balochistan's chapter president Rehmat Baloch.
Further, two officials were seriously injured in the attack and shifted to the Shaheed Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Memorial Hospital.
The security officials said that at least 15 armed men had blocked the road and were checking vehicles passing through the area during which they tried to stop the DC's vehicle and opened fire when it sped away, according to Dawn.
Meanwhile, Protest gatherings organised by the Baloch Yakhjeti Committee against alleged forced disappearances continue across various parts of Balochistan. Speaking at one such gathering lead activist Mahrang Baloch said the Baloch struggle against oppression would continue.
"We have been saying since the beginning that this is a people's movement, its roots are rooted in the people, its strength is the people. But the state is in denial about this, sometimes it tries to end it by force and violence and sometimes it tries to create a false narrative by calling it external funds and external proxy. But this people's movement is proving at every step that it is the movement of the Baloch people, suppressing the people's voice with violence and false narrative is a crude illusion. The conscious people of Kech have proved today that the Baloch nation cannot be suppressed by force and violence," she said.
On Monday, the Baloch Yakhjeti Committee (BYC) organized a large public gathering in Quetta in memory of the martyrs of the Baloch National gathering. The gathering began with the Baloch National Anthem, followed by the National Oath. BYC leaders highlighted the struggles, state repression, and successes of the Baloch National Gathering. According to the BYC, this gathering in Quetta was an important milestone for the Baloch national movement and will play an important role in Baloch national unity.