LAHORE, Pakistan — The family of Asif Iqbal, a 31-year-old gardener, is mourning his loss after he was killed alongside a friend in Balochistan on Sunday, August 25.
Gathered at their home in Lahore, Iqbal’s relatives clutched a photograph of him, struggling to comprehend why he was targeted.
“What is the problem with Quetta? Why a Punjabi? They go there alive, but their bodies return,” said Atif Iqbal, the victim’s brother. “This is like a hell descended upon my family. My father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters—we are shattered. I have no words.”
In Shujaabad, the body of a truck driver, another victim of the attacks, was also laid to rest. “My father was a great support to our family,” said the driver’s son. “He was the sole breadwinner. We learned of his death through a local driver who identified him.”
The attacks, carried out by separatist militants in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, have claimed more than 70 lives. The government has condemned the violence, attributing it to efforts to disrupt development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a militant group seeking the secession of Balochistan, has claimed responsibility for the assaults.
