Islamabad, July 20 People staging a sit-in protest, blocking a road, after the forcible disappearance of Baloch people, including several detained Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders, reached the fifth day of their protests on Sunday, in front of the Islamabad Press Club.
Taking to X, the BYC wrote, “Today marks the fifth day of the ongoing sit-in by families of forcibly disappeared persons and detained BYC leaders in Islamabad.”
“Despite enduring days of rain, scorching heat, and road blockades, these families, including women, the elderly, and children, have remained steadfast in their protest,” they added.
Posting an update on their social media handle, the BYC mentioned that on day five, Islamabad police were actively preventing the families from continuing their sit-in in front of the Islamabad Press Club.
“This comes after a series of repressive tactics: Roads sealed to restrict access to the protest site. No tents are allowed, despite extreme weather. Elderly women and children fainting under the heat and arrival of a police bus, raising fears of forced deportation back to Balochistan,” the BYC wrote.
It further added that “This is not only a denial of the right to peaceful assembly, but a clear attempt to suppress and erase the voices of those demanding justice.”
The BYC expressed the need for human rights defenders, journalists, civil society, and ‘concerned’ citizens to stand in solidarity and amplify their call for justice.
“These families have come from far and are only asking for what is owed to them: freedom for the detained, and accountability for the disappeared,” said the BYC on X
July 19 marked the fourth consecutive day of the sit-in protest. Since the beginning of the camp, the protestors - including women, children, and elderly family members - have been denied the right to set up the camp, the BYC mentioned.
Nadia Baloch, sister of detained BYC Central Organiser Mahrang Baloch, asserted that in this very city, "violent actors are welcomed and even rewarded with cash by army officers", but Baloch elders are humiliated for simply demanding justice.
Another Baloch activist, Sahiba Baloch, called on all conscientious citizens, members of the media, and human rights defenders in Islamabad to stand in solidarity and not leave the families alone and urged support for their peaceful struggle for justice.
Slamming the Pakistani authorities, the BYC stated that the ongoing restriction on the right to peaceful assembly, combined with the targeting of BYC leadership through illegal detentions, reflects a deliberate and systematic attempt to silence Baloch voices.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also expressed concerns over the treatment being meted out to “peaceful protesters” by the Islamabad police.
--IANS
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