QUETTA: Residents of Musakhail have alleged grave injustice after eight individuals were reportedly forced to walk on fire over accusations of shop theft, despite later proving their innocence.

The affected individuals, Hafiz Dad Muhammad, Muhammad Iqbal, Raaz Muhammad and Sharafuddin, raised these allegations during a press conference at the Quetta Press Club on Tuesday.

They said that following a theft incident at a shop in Musakhail, local people decided to subject them to a trial by fire.

“We were compelled to walk through fire to prove our innocence, which we did,” they said.

However, after a video of the incident went viral on social media, the administration became active but, instead of taking action against the actual culprits, registered cases against innocent people, they alleged.

They claimed that those actually involved in the incident were identified as Abid, Shakeel, Gul Muhammad, Jummad Gul, Alam Khan, Rozuddin, Khanan, Haibat Khan and Bahauddin, and that they have not faced any legal action so far.

They alleged that the SHO of the Levies Police Station nominated and arrested innocent individuals who were not nominated by the complainants in the case.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2025