QUETTA: Five members of a family, including a woman, were shot dead in a gruesome firing incident allegedly linked to a land dispute in the Kechi Baig area of Quetta, sparking widespread protests and a prolonged blockade of Sariab Road on Monday.
According to police, the incident took place late Sunday night in Killi Allahabad, within the jurisdiction of Kechi Baig police station, when armed assailants allegedly led by a man identified as Akram, along with his accomplices Razaq and Ikram, stormed into the house of Muhammad Yousaf and opened indiscriminate fire. As a result, Muhammad Yousaf, Parvez, Muhammad Asif, Tahir and a woman identified as Bibi (S) were killed on the spot. Police said the victims included three brothers, their sister and their father. The deceased were reportedly close relatives of the accused, including brothers-in-law and nephews.
The attackers fled from the scene after the incident, while panic and grief spread throughout the area following the killing of the five family members. Police and rescue teams reached the site soon after receiving information and shifted the bodies to hospital for medico-legal formalities before handing them over to the heirs. Initial investigations suggest that the killings occurred over a longstanding land dispute. Police officials said a case had been registered against the nominated suspects and raids were being conducted at various locations to arrest them.
“A thorough investigation from all aspects is underway and the accused will soon be brought to justice,” a police official said, adding that evidence had been collected from the crime scene. Following the incident, enraged relatives, residents and supporters of the victims placed the bodies on Sariab Road and staged a protest demonstration against the killings and the failure to maintain law and order.
