Pakistan Army occupies another girls’ school in Kech, occupied Balochistan

Pakistan Army occupied yet another girls’ school and set up new checkpoints to intimidate school children in Kech district of occupied Balochistan. Earlier too, at Kashaap in district Kech the Pakistan Army had seized a girls’ school during the holy month of Ramadan and set up a checkpoint on its roof, which remains a bone of contention among the people of the village.

Local Baloch people said that there is plenty of space for the soldiers of Pakistan Army to stay and yet the Pakistani forces choose to occupy girls’ schools. “This is only school for girls in the whole village which the Pakistan Army has now occupied. We cannot send our children to study in the presence of Pakistani soldiers … we are concerned about the future of our girls in the district,” a local Baloch said.

It should be noted that Pakistan Army has taken over most of the schools in occupied Balochistan and turned them into military camps. In April 2021, Pakistan Army occupied a school and set up eight new outposts within few yards in the confined area. It has also been reported that many schools’ teachers, including girl students, have been sexually abused in occupied Balochistan.

Last year a teacher was sexually abused at a girls’ school in occupied Balochistan’s district Awaran. However, due to media’s apathy most of such cases, which happen almost on a daily basis, go unreported and the world doesn’t know about them. A delegation of the local residents from the area met with Pakistani military officials on the issue and requested them to vacate their checkpoints from the girls’ schools. The military officials flatly denied and lied that they had set up checkposts at the girls’ schools.

A local resident of Kashaap in the Kech district told media on conditions of anonymity that the presence of Pakistani military personnel has adversely affected Baloch people’s social life and the people are now scared. “Military personnel have banned people from leaving their homes at night and have warned the residents that if anyone leaves the house at night without their notice will be responsible for all wrongs with their family.”