Quetta: Police Clash with Families Seeking Access to Identify Bodies at Hospital
On Wednesday, several women were injured when police in Quetta, Balochistan, violently dispersed families gathered outside the Civil Hospital to identify bodies brought in by security forces. Tensions erupted as families of individuals who had been forcibly disappeared, along with political and human rights activists, tried to enter the hospital to view the 23 unidentified bodies transported there three days earlier.
Eyewitnesses reported that the police acted without warning, using batons against the crowd. “A large number of people, including women, children, and the elderly, were assembled peacefully to identify the bodies when the police suddenly began to baton-charge, injuring several women,” one observer recounted.
The situation intensified further after revelations that 13 of the unidentified bodies had been buried under suspicious conditions at Kasi graveyard the night before. Local residents claimed to have witnessed police and official vehicles arriving at the graveyard to hurriedly bury the bodies before leaving, escalating fears among families who believe their missing loved ones might be among those secretly interred.
Following persistent protests and public outcry, authorities ultimately permitted some families to enter the hospital on Wednesday evening, leading to the identification and subsequent handover of five bodies to their relatives.
