Woman cop, poet killed in Balochistan attacks

GWADAR / QUETTA: A woman police constable and a Brahvi-language poet were gunned down in the Turbat and Nushki areas of Balochistan on Saturday.

Police officials said woman police constable Shakeela was on her way to Turbat town on a motorcycle along with her husband and child when armed men targeted her near Apsar Research Farm.

“The lady constable died on the spot as she suffered multiple bullet injuries, while her husband and child were injured in the firing,” a police official in Turbat said.

Police rushed to the site soon after receiving information about the attack and shifted the body and injured to hospital. The husband was identified as Sunil and the child as seven-month-old Abbas.

The official said, “It was a case of targeted killing”. He added police were investigating the matter.

The constable was on her way to perform court duty when she was attacked.

The attackers fled the scene immediately after the incident.

Last month, a woman constable of the Khuzdar police was killed by armed men in the Zehri area of Balochistan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the “terrorist” attack, prayed for the martyred constable’s soul and for patience and perseverance for the martyr’s family. He said the sacrifices of the martyrs in the war against terrorism would not go in vain. “The government is determined to completely eradicate terrorism from the country, he added.

Also, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the extraordinary courage and sacrifice of Constable Shakeela, while calling her a “brave daughter of Balochistan who fulfilled her duty with unwavering commitment and laid down her life for her beloved homeland”. He said the entire nation saluted her bravery and dedication.

Brahvi poet shot dead

Meanwhile, a teacher and poet of Brahvi language was gunned down in Nushki, police said.

They added that Prof Mohammad Khan aka Ghamkhawar Hayat was targeted in the Killi Mengal area of Nushki while he was on his way to Government Degree College, Nushki.

“Prof Mohammad was a professor of the Brahvi language at the college,” SP Nushki Saleem Shah­wani told Dawn, adding that the assailants escaped after opening fire. He added that the professor was also a Brahvi-language poet.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for either of the incidents.

The teacher was son of prominent political activist Abdul Hameed Sasoli. He was appointed Brahvi language teacher in 2014. Fifteen literature books were to his credit.

Chief minister’s aide Shahid Rind termed the killing an attack on Balochistan’s literary tradition and assured that the elements involved in this brutal killing would be brought to justice.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2026