Balochistan Student Safety Under Threat After College Attack
A shooting at a girls' degree college in Nushki district has intensified concerns over student safety in Pakistan's Balochistan province. Three students were wounded when masked gunmen attacked the campus, and one of them is reported to be in serious condition.
The attack took place on Tuesday, when three armed men entered the college premises, according to the administration. They damaged surveillance cameras, vandalised the principal's office and then opened fire on students. The injured were taken to Mir Gul Khan Nasir Teaching Hospital in Nushki. The victims have been identified as Mahmuna and Mariam from Kaziabad, and Rukhsana from Killi Mengal in Balochistan.
The incident has drawn condemnation from human rights and student groups, who fear that educational institutions in the province are no longer safe. They have also pointed to the growing instability in the region as a major concern.
The Baloch Students Action Committee said attacks on schools and colleges were happening repeatedly. It said that teachers and professors had been targeted earlier, and that students are now facing violence too. The group said both male and female students are living with uncertainty, and that this is disrupting academic life. It insisted that learning can only thrive in a safe environment and criticised the rise in violent incidents as unacceptable. It also alleged serious deficiencies in security arrangements for teachers, professors and students.
Another rights organisation, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, linked the college shooting to a separate incident in the Qadirabad area, where armed men forced the Vision Public School to close. The group blamed Pakistani authorities for both events and said the goal was to frighten educated Baloch women and push them away from education.
The BYC said the armed men entered the school, harassed children and threatened the administration with grave consequences if it reopened. It argued that the attack on the college was meant to scare female students and their families into keeping girls away from classrooms.
The Baloch Women's Forum also condemned the daylight attack. It warned that Balochistan already faces a serious crisis of educational access. If attacks on female students continue and perpetrators go unpunished, the situation could worsen. The forum added that if girls do not feel safe, the impact will reach every family whose daughters are pursuing education or seeking employment outside their homes. The Baloch Voice for Justice also expressed serious concern over the attack, noting that Nushki has been under a state of prolonged military siege and a curfew-like atmosphere for several months.