Pakistan, Oct 18 : Residents of Zehri tehsil in Khuzdar district, Balochistan, have accused the Pakistani military of carrying out indiscriminate air and drone strikes, resulting in the deaths of civilians, including women and children, amid a month-long siege.
According to The Balochistan Post, multiple villages have been devastated, leaving families trapped without access to food, water, or medical aid under an indefinite curfew. Witnesses described harrowing scenes, including a grieving father mourning his children, who were killed on October 5 when army helicopters bombed the Moola area as families returned from a funeral. “Six people were martyred, four of them children,” he said, dismissing official claims that militants were targeted.
The ongoing military operation, involving tanks, artillery, drones, and helicopter gunships, has so far killed more than a dozen civilians. The Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) reported that the siege began in early September after clashes between Baloch fighters and government forces, followed by widespread raids, roadblocks, and communication blackouts.
HRCB documented multiple civilian casualties, including a September 15 airstrike killing three villagers, a September 17 drone attack killing four people, including two women, and an October 1 strike near cotton fields claiming four more lives. Thousands of residents remain trapped as hospitals struggle to cope and farmlands lie in ruins.
Former Balochistan Chief Minister Akhtar Mengal condemned the attacks as “state cruelty” and urged authorities to lift the curfew and halt military aggression. Sabiha Baloch of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee described the siege as a “blatant violation of international law.” Both BYC and the Baloch Students Organisation-Azad accused Pakistan of committing “systematic genocide” against the Baloch population, calling for urgent international intervention.
Rights groups warn that the Zehri crisis is part of a worsening pattern of military repression and unchecked violence across Balochistan, leaving civilians increasingly vulnerable.