|
A first information report (FIR) has been registered against four personnel of Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in connection with the alleged extra-judicial killing of a Baloch youth in the Turbat town of Balochistan's Kech district, Dawn reported.
Dawn is a Pakistani English-language newspaper. Mass protests have been seen in the Kech district over the last couple of weeks following the reported killing of Balaach Mola Bakhsh, who was earlier taken into custody by the CTD. The CTD termed the killing a result of "armed clashes with militants", adding that three more suspects were killed in the clash on Pasni Road in the north of Kech's district headquarters, Turbat, according to Dawn. One of the deceased was identified as Balaach. The CTD claimed to have arrested him with five kilogrammes of explosives on November 20. An FIR was registered against him on November 21 and he was presented before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on the same day in Turbat. However, on the night between Nov 22 and 23, Balaach's body was brought to Turbat Teaching Hospital, where his family identified him, according to Dawn. In a brief statement, the CTD said that four insurgents were killed in an intelligence-based operation on Pasni Road. Later in the evening, in a more detailed statement, the CTD explained that based on a tip-off provided to its personnel by Balaach, a CTD team raided a house where insurgents had taken shelter. During the exchange of fire, three insurgents, including Balaach, who the CTD said was acting as a guide, were killed. The CTD had also claimed that Balaach died as a result of firing from the insurgents. Balaach's family, however, refuted the CTD's claims, saying he was forcibly taken away from their home on the night of October 29 and produced before a court almost a month later. They accused the CTD of extrajudicially killing him. Subsequently, the family, along with thousands of residents of Kech, staged a sit-in with Balaach's body on Turbat city's main road, demanding an impartial inquiry against CTD officials. On Saturday, an FIR was registered at the Turbat police station on the complaint of Mola Bakhsh under Sections 34 (common intention) and 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code against the CTD regional officer, investigation officer, SHO and the lock-up officer. (ANI)
|
