The residents of the provincial capital are gravely concerned over the deteriorating law and order situation in the province coupled by target killings, bomb explosions and kidnapping for ransom. For the past four to five years terrorism and lawlessness prevails in the province of Balochistan. So far, hundreds of people, including women and children, have lost their lives in incidents such as bomb blasts, rocket firing and land mine explosions.
People of the province voted for Pakistan People’s Party in the February 18 general elections, hoping that the new government would find a political solution to the Balochistan problem. But so far, it doesn’t seem that it would be able to succeed in doing so. In the first six months of the year 2008, more than 40 people, including law enforcement agencies’ personnel, have died during target killing and bomb blasts’ incidents in the provincial capital.
On January 5, 2008, FC personnel Mohammad Arif was killed and two others, Qaiser Jan and Azam Jan, were injured at Sipni Road. On February 17, Muhammad Shahid Raeesani was killed at Barwari Road near Abdul Salam Pakwan, Quetta. Similarly, on February 21, three police personnel, Sub-Inspector Latif and two head constables, Bashir Ahmad and Muhammad Ayub, were killed.
In another act of terrorism on March 27, 2008, traffic police head constable Abdul Latif was killed at Liaqaut Bazaar near Najeebullah Street, Quetta, while a passerby, identified as Iqbal, was injured. In an incident on March 29, 2008, head constable Jameel Shah, Saddar police station, was killed in Shahbaz Town at Chowk Samangli Road. On April 1, 2008, FC personnel Naek Habibur Rehman and Sephoy Naveed Khan were killed, whereas, Naek Ameer Nawaz and Sephoy Abdul Wali were injured. On April 2, two army personnel, Zafaran and Saeed, were killed outside Umer Medical Store, Quetta near Liaquat Road. Similarly, on April 10, 2008, Abbas Ahmed was killed at Meekangi Road. On April 15, 2008, Sephoy Sher Zaman and Saifur Rehman were killed at Sabzal Road. On April 17, Hussain Atif was killed at Babu Mohallah, Railway Colony, whereas, one Muhammad Khair and a passerby were injured. Balochistan University Vice Chancellor Dr Safdar Kayani was killed on April 22 in Green Town. Similarly, on May 1, a head constable, Jumma Khan, was killed at Chohar Mill Cross, Jinnah Road, Quetta.
On May 2, 2008, constable Rasool Baksh was seriously injured on Saryab Road near Shandar Hotel. On May 7, constable Muhammad Nasir was killed at Saryab Road near Burma Hotel, Quetta, whereas, head constable Noor Ahmed and a passerby Karimullah were injured in the incident. On May 13, a constable, Muhammad Ishaq, was killed at Jail Road, Munnu Jan chowk, whereas another constable, Muhammad Hussain, was critically injured. Similarly, two persons, Irfan and Muhammad Faisal, were killed at Ayub Stadium, while Muhammad Adnan, Rashid and Ghulam Murtaza were injured.
On May 28, two men, Waqar Ahmed and Abdul Saeed, were killed at the Railway Colony joint road, Quetta. On the same day, Muhammad Iqbal and Muhammad Israr were killed at the Railway Guard Colony near Girls High School, Quetta. On May 30th, innocent residents Ali Sohail, Jahangir, Zahid Hussain, Ameer Ullah and Muhammad Jawad were killed near FIA Office, Samangli Road, Quetta, while three others, Abdul Karim, Hamid Ali and Aftab Hussain, were injured. On April 29, in the area of Kusda Sheher, two military personnel were killed. On July 2, City police station was attacked with a hand grenade, leaving two police personnel injured. On the same day, a traffic police official, Zaheer, was shot dead outside Saleem Complex, whereas one Nadeem was severely injured. In a similar incident, three persons, Ihtaram Ullah, Amjad and Irfan Khan, were killed on the spot, whereas one Nadeem was seriously injured.
On July 4, an eight years old girl was killed in a blast, whereas 16 persons were injured, including 4 traffic police personnel.
The victims’ families staged a sit-in outside the Chief Minister’s House and the Governor’s House and also held a protest demonstration. The victims’ families strongly criticized the provincial government for, what they said, failing to maintain law and order in the province, adding that the citizens were living with a sense of insecurity.
They demanded that the provincial government should give strict punishment to those involved in the acts of violence in the provincial capital.
After the July 4 incident, SSP Saddar Quetta Qazi Abdul Wahid, while addressing a press conference, said the police had arrested nine persons in connection with acts of terrorism.
He said to curb violence in the city, the police were working day and night. In this regard, he said, the police had arrested two persons allegedly involved in an attack on a police mobile. He said 200 police personnel in plain clothes had been appointed in different areas of the city to curb target killings.
 Similarly, he said, 200 personnel had been provided with motorcycles – ten for each police station -- to patrol narrow streets.