GWADAR: A mortar shell explosion killed a 12-year-old boy and injured two other children late on Monday evening in a small town near the Pakistan-Iran border, officials said.

The mortar shell, fired from an unknown location, landed and exploded in the Gomazai area of Tump as the three children were returning home from a seminary, according to security officials.

One of the injured children, identified as Muhammad, succumbed to multiple injuries after being taken to a hospital.

The other two were identified as Abdullah and Muhammad Fazil.

Security forces have launched an investigation to find the location from which the shell was fired.

In a separate incident in the same area, authorities found the body of Yousaf Faith, a young poet and musician who, according to his family, had been missing. Levies recovered the body, and said hospital officials confirmed Faith had been badly tortured.

Human rights activists expressed serious concern over the death and demanded “a transparent and independent probe into the incident”.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2025