At least one civilian was killed and several others — including women and children — were injured after Pakistani forces carried out shelling in the Drakhalaw-Gaslaiti area of Wadh in Khuzdar district, Balochistan, according to local media reports citing sources on Friday, 25 July 2025. The deceased was identified as Abdul Qadir.

Sit-in Protest on Highway

Following the incident, local residents staged a sit-in demonstration on a highway near the affected area, placing the body of Abdul Qadir at the protest site as a mark of grief and defiance. Protesters alleged that the shelling by Pakistani forces began on Thursday morning and directly struck a civilian locality in Wadh, according to The Balochistan Post.

Demonstrators demanded an impartial investigation into the shelling and accountability for those responsible, vowing to sustain the sit-in until a transparent inquiry is initiated.

BNM Chief Condemns Attack, Calls for International Access

Naseem Baloch, chairman of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), condemned the incident in a post on X, stating: 'Shelling of civilian areas, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, custodial deaths, and collective punishment have become a persistent feature of the ongoing conflict, underscoring the urgent need for independent and impartial investigations.'

Baloch further urged the international community — including the United Nations, independent media, and human rights organisations — to be granted unhindered access to Balochistan to establish facts, monitor the human rights situation, and ensure transparency and accountability.

Curfews, Internet Shutdowns Compound the Crisis

On Thursday, human rights organisation Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) expressed grave concern over prolonged curfews, internet shutdowns, and movement restrictions imposed by Pakistani authorities across several regions in Balochistan, including Khand Kotcha, Zehri, Naushki, and Jiwani. The organisation said these measures amounted to collective punishment of millions of citizens.

In a statement, BVJ described the enforcement of an indefinite curfew in Khand Kotcha as a 'grave restriction on fundamental human rights and civil liberties', noting that similar curfews had previously been imposed in Zehri, Naushki, and Jiwani, confining residents to their homes and severely disrupting daily life.

Impact on Essential Services and Vulnerable Groups

The BVJ warned that continuous curfews were disrupting the supply of medicines, food, and other essential items; preventing patients from reaching hospitals in time; suspending students' educational activities; and wiping out the livelihoods of daily wage labourers and small business owners. Commercial activity, transportation, and communication systems were also reported to be severely affected.

The rights body further highlighted that indiscriminate firing by Pakistan's Frontier Corps and other security forces on passenger buses at the Khand Kotcha location had resulted in the deaths of civilians — an incident it described as 'highly alarming'. It called on Pakistani authorities to identify those responsible through transparent investigations and bring them to account.

This comes amid a broader pattern of reported military operations and civil rights restrictions in Balochistan that have drawn repeated criticism from human rights groups. With protesters still on the highway and rights organisations demanding international oversight, pressure on Islamabad over its conduct in the province is unlikely to ease.