Farmers in the Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan were allegedly baton-charged by the security forces for refusing to surrender their crops to the district administration.
The farmers in the area have long been demanding land reforms and an end to colonial-era practices that obligate them to share their crops with landlords.
According to locals, the levies and police baton-charged farmers after they refused to surrender their crops to the landlords.
Locals have claimed that the government authorities are supporting the landlords and have been using violence against the farmers for resisting giving a share in their crops to the landlords.
However, according to a local journalist, the farmers were injured as a result of a clash that erupted between them and levies personnel who were part of the assistant commissioner’s team who visited the area to retrieve the crops in accordance with a court’s order. The farmers resisted the court’s order and clashed with the levies personnel.
The levies personnel opened aerial firing to disperse the enraged farmers. As a result of the clash, 19 people were injured, including 10 women.
