Balochistan [Pakistan], April 17 : The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has accused Pakistani authorities of responding to the peaceful protests held in over 20 locations across Balochistan and Karachi on April 13 with brutal force.
The BYC accused armed police, plainclothes intelligence and paramilitary forces of dispersing protesters, sealing roads, baton-charging women, firing on unarmed crowds, and lodging criminal cases designed to intimidate and silence.
In a post on X, BYC stated, "April 13, 2025 - Weaponizing the Law: A Coordinated Crackdown on Peaceful Protest On April 13, the Baloch Yakhjehti Committee (BYC) held peaceful demonstrations in over 20 locations across Balochistan and Karachi to demand the immediate release of its unlawfully arrested leadership. The state responded not with engagementbut with brute force. Armed police, plainclothes intelligence personnel, and paramilitary forces violently dispersed protesters, sealed roads, baton-charged women, fired on unarmed crowds, and registered criminal cases designed to intimidate and silence."
"For exercising their right to peaceful assembly, protesters have been accused of attempted murder, sedition, terrorism, and rioting. The charges are not just disproportionatethey are fabricated. This is not law enforcement. This is the criminalisation of dissent, enabled by a broken justice system," it added.
BYC stated that protesters have been slapped with a slew of fabricated and disproportionate charges, including sedition, terrorism, attempted murder, and rioting. In Turbat, charges under Section 124-A (sedition) and Section 506-B (criminal intimidation) were lodged, along with rioting-related laws.
In Hub, protesters face accusations of assaulting public servants and obstructing government duties. In multiple locations, including Nushki, Washuk, Winder, Dalbandin, and Kharan, demonstrators were charged under laws related to unlawful assembly and disobedience to public orders, according to the BYC statement.
BYC highlighted that the crackdown was especially violent in Karachi's Malir district, where protesters were attacked even after the demonstration had concluded. The FIR filed there includes charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), attempted murder, abetment, and multiple sections relating to rioting and causing harm. These repressive measures are a stark indication of a justice system increasingly used as a tool of suppression rather than protection.
https://x.com/BalochYakjehtiC/status/1912771033225966075
The BYC and its supporters have demanded the immediate withdrawal of all false and fabricated FIRS, the release of arbitrarily detained protesters, an end to the misuse of penal and anti-terror laws against peaceful demonstrators, and independent accountability for police and paramilitary violence.
In addition, the BYC called for the immediate release of all unlawfully detained BYC leaders, reaffirming that the right to dissent must not be treated as a crime.
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