Pakistan: Baloch students continue sit-in protest over enforced disappearances

Baloch students in Lahore and Islamabad on Saturday continued their sit-in protest for the fifth day against enforced disappearances.

The protest was organized for the safe recovery of fellow student Hafeez Baloch and others who were missing, reported The Balochistan Post (TBP).

The protest is also being held in Islamabad. According to details, the protest camp of Baloch Students Council Islamabad continued in front of Islamabad National Press Club in which various student organizations, journalists and human rights activists participated.

They are protesting against enforced disappearances of Baloch students.

On the other hand, the Baloch Students Council in Lahore also organized a rally in which a large number of students and members of other political and human rights organizations participated, reported TBP.

They condemned the non-recovery of missing and forcibly disappeared students by state forces and the violence against Baloch students in Islamabad and the police FIR against them.

Earlier, Islamabad Police on Tuesday clashed with Baloch students protesting for the release of missing students.

According to students, plain-clothed officials snatched their mobile phones and dismantled the protest camp, reported local media.

Students activists claim that the peaceful protesters were unnecessarily manhandled and beaten by the Police.

Balochistan's Human Development Index (HDI) ranks below 0.40 as compared to the other provinces of Pakistan that lie above 0.50. Within Pakistan, Balochistan lags far behind other provinces and 15 out of Pakistan's least-developed districts are in Balochistan.

Meanwhile, enforced disappearances and arbitrary killings of Balochs have also become a new 'normal in the region'.

( With inputs from ANI )

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