GWADAR, BALOCHISTAN : At least eight Baloch fishermen and labourers were reportedly killed and dozens more injured after alleged firing by Pakistan Coast Guards in the coastal area of Kuntani near Gwadar, according to statements issued by Baloch nationalist groups.
The Republic of Balochistan condemned what it described as a “massacre of Baloch citizens” in the coastal town of Kantani, alleging that Pakistani security personnel opened fire without provocation on unarmed fishermen and labourers.
The group claimed several injured victims remain in critical condition, raising fears that the death toll could rise further in the coming hours.
Witness accounts cited by Baloch activists allege that local residents were forced to transport the wounded using limited private resources amid a severe shortage of ambulances and emergency medical facilities. Gwadar Hospital is said to be approximately sixty kilometres from the site of the incident.
Baloch representatives further alleged that security forces obstructed attempts to move casualties to hospital, claims that could not be independently verified.
The incident is expected to deepen already volatile tensions in Pakistan’s south-western province of Balochistan, where separatist movements and armed insurgencies have intensified in recent years.
In a strongly worded statement, Baloch groups accused Islamabad of “state terrorism” and appealed for immediate international intervention in the region. Pakistani authorities had not issued an official response at the time of publication.
Activists also renewed longstanding accusations that Pakistani authorities and Chinese-backed commercial trawlers are exploiting Balochistan’s coastal resources while restricting local fishermen from accessing deep waters, threatening livelihoods across Gwadar, Pasni and Ormara.
The allegations come amid continuing unrest in the strategically significant province, home to the China-backed Gwadar Port project, a key component of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
