A statue of Mohammad Ali Jinnah was completely destroyed in a blast in the port city of Gwadar in Balochistan province on Sunday morning. According to a report by Pakistan’s English daily Dawn, the statue, which was installed in June this year at Marine Drive was blown up by placing an explosive device beneath it. The Baloch Liberation Front has reportedly claimed responsibility for the blast.
Gwadar Deputy Commissioner Major (retd) Abdul Kabir Khan said that the BRA fighters had entered the area posing as tourists.
Balochistan’s former home minister and current Senator Sarfraz Bugti tweeted: “The demolition of Quaid-e-Azam’s statue in #Gwadar is an attack on Ideology of Pakistan. I request authorities to punish the perpetrators in the same way as we did with those behind the attack on Quaid-e-Azam residency in Ziarat.”
Baloch people were seen celebrating on social media, asserting that they do not identify Jinnah as their leader.
https://twitter.com/BeebagrBaloch3/status/1442016177534996481?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAdditionally, at least 4 Pakistan personnel were killed and two injured in another blast in Balochistan. The blast, whose responsibility was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) was carried out targeting Pakistan’s paramilitary forces in the country’s restive Balochistan province, an official informed on Sunday.
As per reports in the Pakistani media, a vehicle of the Frontier Corps was attacked in the Khosat area of Balochistan’s Harnai district on Sunday.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s most volatile province on the southwestern border, has been demanding political rights, autonomy and control over its territory since 1947.
The Pakistan Army has been committing a series of human rights violations in Balochistan for years. From mass killings to abduction, torture and then eventual murder, the province has witnessed unimaginable brutalities over the years. Pakistan has used weapons supplied to it by the US government to wage war against the Balochs.