Mass Protests Erupt In Balochistan Over Enforced Disappearances
Protests were held in several cities of Balochistan, calling for a stop to suspected enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the kidnapping of Baloch women.
Baloch students in Islamabad and Uthal held quiet protests, while the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) organized rallies around the region, The Balochistan Post reported. In solidarity, businesses in Mastung, Kalat, and other cities remained closed during shutter-down strikes.
Protesters demanded that human rights groups and the UN step in and hold Pakistani officials responsible. Families of missing people flocked to Quetta for a protest march organized by the BYC. Carrying pictures of their loved ones, protesters chanted anti-enforced disappearance slogans and urged foreign organizations to pay attention.
BYC leaders accused the Pakistan government of repressing Baloch intellectuals, students, and youth by carrying out targeted assassinations and enforced disappearances, according to a report by The Balochistan Post. Families of the missing, activists, and locals gathered at Shaheed Fida Chowk in Turbat on Sunday for a three-day protest camp.
In reaction to recent targeted killings, including those of Zakriya Baloch in Gwadar, Naveed Baloch in Buleda, and Allah Dad Baloch in Turbat, the camp was established. Protesters called for justice and explained that these killings were part of a planned campaign, The Balochistan Post reported.
Demonstrators marched from the Mir Gul Khan Naseer Library to the Noshki Press Club as part of a protest rally in Noshki. Participants denounced the killing of Allah Dad Baloch in Turbat and the kidnapping of Asma Jattak Baloch in Khuzdar. Pakistani security forces were accused by activists of targeting Baloch students and intellectuals, claiming that these actions were part of a larger crackdown on political opposition.
In Kharan, BYC activists joined a sit-in where families are calling for Hafiz Hazrat Ali Baloch and Mubarak Baloch’s release. According to family members, security forces used enforced disappearances as a form of group discipline.
Shops and businesses in Mastung and Kalat stayed shuttered in protest on Sunday, resulting in a shutter-down strike. Protesters denounced enforced disappearances, the murder of Allah Dad Baloch, and the abduction of Asma Baloch as acts of state persecution, The Balochistan Post reported.
Additionally, demonstrators hoisted signs calling for the prompt release of all missing persons during demonstrations in Chagai, Dalbandin, Nokundi, and Yakmach. Demonstrations will continue throughout Balochistan until “each missing individual” is found, according to protest organizers.
Students protested against targeted killings and enforced disappearances at Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water, and Marine Sciences (LUAWMS) in Uthal, The Balochistan Post reported.
Protesters in Islamabad and Balochistan called on human rights groups and the UN to step in. They called for swift action to end extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, and what they called the Baloch people’s collective punishment. (ANI)
