"No family should be left to suffer like ours": Grieving father of Karachi businessman calls for justice

The father of a Karachi businessman killed in a deadly attack in Balochistan has accused authorities of failing to respond in time, claiming his son and daughter-in-law were left without assistance for several hours after the incident.

Speaking publicly about the tragedy, he said he had repeatedly warned his son, Ali, against travelling to Quetta because of the deteriorating security situation. Despite his concerns, Ali decided to make the journey with his wife and two daughters.

According to the grieving father, Ali safely reached his destination and later told his family he had enjoyed the visit. Before beginning the return journey, friends reportedly advised him not to travel at night, but he chose to continue.

The family remained in contact until Ali's live location suddenly stopped updating. Shortly afterwards, his daughter-in-law called relatives, saying their vehicle had come under gunfire. She reported that Ali had been shot and feared he had died, while she herself had suffered five gunshot wounds.

"My husband has been killed. I have been shot five times. I don't know if I will survive. Please come and save my children," she reportedly told relatives during the call.

The father said his daughter-in-law remained conscious for hours despite her injuries and continued calling family members for help. At one stage, believing she might not survive, she reportedly dictated her final wishes and instructed her daughter to keep calling a relative if she lost consciousness.

He alleged that repeated appeals to security officials, including the Frontier Corps (FC), failed to produce an immediate rescue response. According to his account, officials told the family they could not enter the area before sunrise because it was considered a "no-go area".

"If a place in our own country is too dangerous for the authorities to enter at night, then it should be closed or clearly marked as unsafe," he said.

The father rejected reports that emergency services reached the victims within two hours, claiming they remained stranded from around 1.00am until approximately 5.30am before help arrived. He also dismissed reports that Ali's body was transported by air ambulance, saying it was instead returned on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) cargo flight accompanied by family members.

Calling for accountability, he argued that inadequate warning signs and poor security measures contributed to the tragedy. He said navigation services should not be blamed when authorities had failed to restrict access to dangerous routes or alert travellers to the risks.

The grieving father also appealed for the road where his son was killed to be named in his memory, describing him as a respected businessman from Karachi. He praised his daughter-in-law's courage, saying she fought to protect her daughters despite suffering multiple gunshot wounds.