Balochistan: Pakistani Forces Accused of Forced Labour and Land Seizures in Zehri
SHAAL (QUETTA): Pakistani security forces in the Zehri area of Khuzdar district are reportedly seizing local lands, establishing new military camps, and forcing residents into labour following an ongoing military aggression, according to local sources.
Sources from Tarasani near Zehri told BalochWarna News that security personnel are compelling young men to work on the construction of new military camps. Eyewitnesses said the men are taken from their homes each morning and released only late in the evening.
Residents report that military pressure and continuous harassment have forced multiple families to leave Zehri and relocate to Khuzdar, Hub Chowki, and other towns. They added that Pakistani forces have set up several checkpoints at the entry and exit points of Zehri, where all travellers are required to present identification documents and personal information, significantly restricting movement.
According to local accounts, a large-scale military offensives began in the region in September, during which aerial bombardment and drone strikes killed dozens of people, including women and children. Numerous residents, including women, were also forcibly disappeared.
According local sources, the only civil hospital in Zehri was taken over by Pakistani forces and turned into a military camp. Due to limited access to medical care, a pregnant woman died during childbirth after failing to receive timely treatment.
Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan have condemned the civilian deaths in Zehri and called for an immediate end to the curfew and the recovery of forcibly disappeared persons.
