Baloch marchers refuse to return after capital crackdown

ISLAMABAD:

It all came down to a stand-off between Baloch women marchers and Islamabad’s law enforcement agencies on Thursday as the former resisted the latter’s attempt to forcibly send them back to Quetta in buses, remaining in the vehicles – not allowing them to move -- to lodge their protest.

A scuffle also broke out between female police personnel and the women protesters in the process.
Islamabad police chief Akbar Nasir Khan arrived at the women’s police station in the federal capital to negotiate with the Baloch female protesters so that would agree to head back to Quetta.

The streetlights outside the police station were turned off. In addition, a heavy contingent of women police personnel was deployed outside the station.

Senior journalist Hamid Mir, who was present there, engaged in a verbal scuffle with a police official when he asked him why the women were being sent back.

Earlier Mahrang Baloch, a Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) member, who was leading the protest, shared on X (formerly Twitter) that she was still in custody at the police station, while other women were forcibly being sent back to Quetta in buses under heavy security.

Later, a social media user shared a post showing police personnel brutally dragging the Baloch women to the buses. The move was widely condemned by social media users.

The stand-off continued by the time this report was filed.

Earlier in the day, in response to public outrage over the baton-charging and arrest of Baloch marchers, some of the protesters, including women and children, were supposedly “released” following negotiations between a government panel and representatives from the BYC.

In the wee hours of the day, police in various areas of the federal capital apprehended numerous participants of the Baloch long march – staged against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings -- after using water cannons and baton charges to disperse them.

Social media footage showed security forces using water cannons and tear gas, as well as forcibly loading Baloch protesters into police vehicles.

Soon after the arrests, the BYC filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court and a hearing took place on the same day.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq warned Islamabad police chief Akbar Nasir Khan against creating any hindrance in the protest, observing that the marchers had the constitutional right to stage a demonstration.
Later, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar formed a three-member committee comprising of federal ministers for negotiations with the BYC representatives.

Following the talks, an immediate order for the release of the detained individuals was issued.
The ministers, who were part of the committee, also held a news conference in the federal capital, clarifying that the government had proposed various locations to the marchers to stage their sit-in, assuring them of the availability of every facility they required at these places.

However, they added that the marchers were adamant on staging a demonstration outside the National Press Club in Islamabad.

Caretaker Privatisation Minister Fawad Hasan Fawad emphasised that peaceful protests had been ongoing outside the press club for several days, without any interference.

However, he added that some elements joined the recent protests with the intention of causing trouble.

“In response to these elements, the police took limited action and arrested some individuals,” he maintained.
He claimed that only those who had concealed their faces and engaged in stone-throwing as well as vandalism were dealt with, emphasising that the rule of law could not be ignored.

He assured the nation that the interim government never had any intention to use excessive force.
"We have been requesting the protesters to relocate to a place where better security could be provided.

While those from Balochistan were peaceful, some individuals wearing masks [causing trouble] joined the protest here,” he added.

Fawad elaborated that all women and children have been released, along with the identified men.

However, he added that a few individuals remained in custody and were scheduled to be produced before the IHC on Friday (today) morning following their proper identification.

However, the trouble started in the early hours of the day when BYC members and other protesters were stopped from entering Islamabad.

The long march was started from Turbat in Balochistan against the alleged extrajudicial killing of Balach Baloch.

The Islamabad police blocked entry points of the city to prevent the protesters from reaching the National Press Club. The protest aimed to voice resentment until concrete action was taken against those implicated in the killing of Balach.

The protesters accuse the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of unjustly branding Balach a terrorist and carrying out his cold-blooded killing.

The CTD vehemently denies these allegations, asserting that the incident resulted from an armed clash between "miscreants" and security forces in the Pasni road area of Turbat.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) criticised the police crackdown on the marchers. In statement, it urgently called “on the government to organise a delegation to meet the protesters and give their legitimate demands a fair hearing”.

“This treatment of Baloch citizens exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly is inexcusable. It also reflects how little the state thinks of the protesters’ demand that their right to life and liberty be upheld,” it added.

Amnesty International, in a separate statement, said it was concerned by the "excessive use of force by law enforcement against the Baloch long march protesters".

"Dozens have been detained and several others injured, including women, minors and elderly persons, violating their rights to liberty, security and protest," it continued.

Amnesty International urged the government to conduct an impartial investigation into all "extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, particularly in Balochistan".

The organisation also demanded that the affected families should be compensated.