Pakistan targets Saawal Baloch as collective punishment. Central Spokesperson BNM

The Central Spokesperson of the Baloch National Movement said that the targeting of Mullah Saawal, a resident of Jhaoo, in Windar, was a continuation of the collective punishment meted out by Pakistan. Fed up with the barbarity and atrocities of the Pakistani army in Jhaoo, he had migrated to Winder, a city in Balochistan.

Thousands of people have been martyred and disappeared as a result of ongoing military barbarism, genocide and collective punishment in Balochistan. The barbarism of the Pakistani army continues across Balochistan and the people are being subjected to collective punishment. For the past two decades, the Pakistani military and other agencies have been wreaking havoc in Balochistan. Not a day goes by that doomsday does not come upon the Baloch nation.

He said that Mullah Saawal son of Ali, a resident of Korak Jhaoo, was attacked in Winder. Later on, he was shifted in a critical condition in a hospital at Karachi, where he could not survive due to excessive bleeding and breathed his last. Many of his family members have been killed by the Pakistani army and many have been missing for years. They include his cousins Shaheed Siraj son of Ahmed, Shaheed Musa son of Nazar Muhammad and close relative Shaheed Khaliq Dad son of Easa. The missing persons in his family include 70-year-old Khan Muhammad son of Kahur and 6-year-old Shoaib son of Hassan, nephew of Shaheed Siraj Ahmed.

Siraj Ahmed and Khaliq Dad were martyred by the Pakistani army on October 6, 2016 during a military operation. Haji Musa son of Nazar Mohammad was shot dead by Pakistan Army Death Squad on June 18, 2016. Such incidents are happening frequently in Balochistan.

The spokesman said that collective punishment is a clear war crime. International organizations should bring Pakistan to justice.