Woman Police Constable and Lecturer Killed in Separate Attacks in Balochistan
QUETTA: A woman police constable and a lecturer were shot dead in separate attacks in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, police officials reported on Saturday. The incidents highlight ongoing security challenges in the region.
Attack on Woman Police Constable
In the first attack in Kech district, the woman police constable, identified as Shakeela, was gunned down while traveling in a private vehicle with her husband and two children to a local court in Turbat city for duty. She is the second woman constable killed by unknown armed men in Balochistan in less than a month. On April 19, another woman cop, Malik Naz Baloch, was killed during a shootout with militants in Khuzdar district.
Imran Qureshi, the deputy inspector general (DIG) of police in Makran Division, said Shakeela was targeted near a farm in Turbat while traveling with her spouse and their eight-month-old and six-year-old sons. 'Lady constable Shakeela was killed on the spot while her husband and eight-year-old son were injured,' DIG Qureshi said. 'Shakeela's six-month-old kid who was in her lap escaped the attack miraculously.'
No group immediately claimed responsibility for what police called a targeted killing. Shakeela joined the police force in 2015 but had been receiving threats from militant groups for the last few months, asking her to quit her job. 'Shakeela's husband was also a member of a banned terrorist group but he later surrendered,' DIG Qureshi added. 'It was a brutal attack because more than 30 bullets were fired on her vehicle despite a woman and children sitting inside.'
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to Shakeela and extended his sympathies to her family. 'The brave daughter of Balochistan sacrificed her life for her beloved homeland while performing her duty,' Naqvi said in a statement. 'Brave daughters like martyred Lady Constable Shakeela are the pride of the nation.'
Killing of Lecturer and Poet
In the second incident, Muhammad Hayat Ghamkhuwar, a lecturer and famous Brahvi-language poet, was killed in the Mengal Abad area of Balochistan's Nushki city. Nasheeb Pirkani, the Nushki police station in-charge, said unidentified gunmen targeted Hayat when he was going to Nushki Bazar from his home. 'Hayat was shot multiple times,' Pirkani told Arab News. 'The body has been shifted to the hospital and a search for the attackers is underway.'
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Ghamkhuwar's killing either. However, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti blamed ethnic Baloch separatist groups for both killings. 'Targeting an innocent lady constable is an attack on peace in Balochistan,' Bugti said, promising to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Context of Violence in Balochistan
Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but least developed province, borders Iran and Afghanistan and hosts Gwadar port, a key component of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The province, which has been the site of a long-running insurgency, has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent years, including attacks targeting Chinese nationals, infrastructure projects, security forces, police, and non-native Pakistanis, complicating Pakistan's efforts to market Gwadar and the mineral-rich province as key investment destinations.
