Two killed and nine injured in Quetta police crackdown on robbers

QUETTA: Two persons were killed and nine others injured when local administration and police launched an operation to reclaim captured land in Chashma Achozai on Sunday.

In response, angry protesters blocked Airport Road at two locations but dispersed after police used tear gas.

According to Quetta Division Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat, the local administration and police launched an operation on Sunday to reclaim a degraded land in Chashma Achozai.

During the operation, the land mafia members opened fire, resulting in the death of two of their own individuals. According to the government, the robbers are Afghan refugees and further action will be taken against them.

Deputy Commissioner Quetta Saad bin Asad reported that the police and the district administration, on the orders of the court, surrounded the area to start the operation.

The land mafia opened fire on the assistant commissioner, police and local administration, injuring police personnel and bystanders.

Nevertheless, the police continued their action. The deputy commissioner further said that the district administration sought police assistance to reclaim 298 hectares of private land following a civil judge’s order.

The land mafia attacked police and civilians, killing two bystanders. After this, the land mafia blocked roads and started protesting.

Health department spokesperson Dr Waseem Baig said the bodies and the injured had been shifted to the civil hospital.

Meanwhile, residents of Quetta, in protest against the operation, blocked the Airport Road at Almo Chowk and Baleli and placed bodies on the road.

Nawab Suleiman Khilji, who led the protest at Almo Chowk, claimed that three of their people were killed and 25 injured.

He said the people who also claimed rights to the land were involved in firing on them. He demanded that FIRs be filed against the identified persons. He claimed that their families had lived in the locality since 1978 and questioned the claim that they were Afghan refugees.

He accused the influential individuals of taking action against them and claimed that their protests would continue. The protesters later reopened the Airport Road at Almo Chowk and Baleli.