HYDERABAD: Jamhoori Watan Party has condemned gruesome murder of mother and her two sons by a tribal leader in Balochistan and said the incident is a challenge for state and entire civil society of the country.

The party’s secretary general Rauf Khan Sasoli said in a statement issued here on Wednesday that it was the worst ever incident in the history of Baloch as it trampled upon centuries old traditions of protection and honour.

He urged state authorities, civil rights organisations and Balochistan government to expose all the characters behind the incident and bring them to justice. They should be punished publicly, he said.

He said that the tragedy that took place in Barkhan district had created sense of insecurity and deepened impression that Balochistan was not safe for women and downtrodden people.

He said the incident had also raised questions over the character of tribal chiefs who were always patronized by state. None of the officers, right from IGP to SP or commissioner had quit their posts over their failure to avert the incident that had taken place under their very noses, he said.

He said that no action was taken against them either. If tribal chiefs remained above the law people would lose trust in justice. This incident was a challenge for entire civil society of the country till all the culprits were brought to book, he said.

WAF slams triple murder of Marri family

The Women Action Forum, Hyderabad chapter, has condemned murder of two Marri men and their mother allegedly by Balochistan minister Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran.

The forum expressed in a statement issued here the other day its anguish over the incident and said the bodies of the victims were found in a well.

It demanded arrest of the Sardar and said that a murder case should be registered against him. Tribal system was anathema to democratic values as it justified and condoned enslavement of men and women for ensuring its grip on peoples’ lives, it said.

The forum said the state was responsible for the protection of every citizen and it should take steps to liberate men and women who were held in illegal confinement in private ‘kots’ of tribal chiefs in Balochistan and Sindh provinces.

The WAF urged the district administration concerned to take notice of the crime and immediately lodge an FIR for necessary legal action against the culprit or culprits.

Published in Dawn, February 23th, 2023