Pakistan: Baloch Activists’ Arrest Sparks Nationwide Outrage

On Monday, March 24, Pakistani authorities arrested activists in Karachi during a protest demanding the immediate release of Balochistan Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders who had been detained the previous week.

Crackdown on protestors in Balochistan sparks nationwide outrage

The arrests followed a violent police crackdown on Friday, March 22, in Quetta, Balochistan, where security forces used tear gas and live ammunition against demonstrators protesting forced disappearances. At least three people, including a 12-year-old girl, were killed in the assault. The next day, Saturday, March 23, BYC leader Mahrang Baloch and 16 others were arrested while protesting against the killings. They now face charges of incitement to violence, terrorism, and other offenses, with authorities accusing them of helping protesters forcibly remove the bodies of the victims from a hospital.

In response, activists and progressive groups across Pakistan organized a national day of action on Monday, March 24. However, police repression continued, and at least six more people – including BYC leader Sammi Deen Baloch – were arrested in Karachi.

Several other protests and strikes have been organized in different parts of the country, including Balochistan, since Mahrang’s arrest. The state has continued its efforts to suppress any manifestations of dissent. Following the incidents on Monday, Karachi police banned all kinds of protest gatherings in the city.  

This ongoing crackdown has provoked widespread outrage, fueling further resistance against state violence and repression.

Widespread condemnation of state repression

Taimur Rahman, leader of the leftwing Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP), condemned the state’s actions, calling them “shameful”. He also noted that the state’s crackdown on the movement demanding an end to forced disappearances “will not improve the situation in Balochistan” and may, in fact, worsen it.   

Pakistan’s Balochistan province has a long history of unrest, rooted in what activists describe as the colonial-era plunder of local resources and the federal government’s oppressive policies. It has witnessed a recent surge in violence. Earlier this month dozens of people were killed in a train hijacking, allegedly by the militants in the province. Activists have asserted that the Pakistan state has used the surge in violence to redouble its oppression of all peaceful opposition in the region.   

The left-wing Haqooq-e-Khalq Party (HKP) issued a statement condemning the “indiscriminate use of live ammunition on unarmed protesters.” HKP said that state violence “on children, women, and other unarmed protesters is a complete violation of the right of peaceful protests enshrined in the constitution.” This oppression “is bound to further inflame public sentiments in Balochistan, where the security and law and order situation is already fast deteriorating by the day,” it says. 

HKP called for an end to state repression and demanded a resolution to all the conflict in the region through negotiations with all the stakeholders. 

Awami Workers Party (AWP) also demanded the immediate release of all protesters arrested on Monday, calling the disregard of fundamental rights in the constitution by the authorities “appalling”.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also issued statements condemning the police crackdown against protesters on Friday and the arrest of BYC leaders on Saturday. They demanded the immediate release of all the detainees and called on “all political parties, including those with legitimate support in Balochistan” to “take the lead and engage with all stakeholders in the province, including civil society and academia.”

Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch