Islamabad [Pakistan], August 16 : A sit-in by families of Balochistan's missing persons entered its 31st day in Islamabad on Friday, with demonstrators accusing police of harassment, restrictions, and the use of excessive force, The Balochistan Post reported.
As per The Balochistan Post, the protest, organised by relatives of the disappeared and members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), aims to highlight the ongoing crisis of enforced disappearances in Balochistan and what participants denounce as the unlawful detention of BYC leaders.
The outlet reported that a seminar titled "Unlawful Detention of BYC Leadership and the Grievances of Families of the Enforcedly Disappeared" was scheduled outside the Islamabad Press Club. However, hours before the event, police allegedly intervened, attempting to break up the gathering by pushing and assaulting women and children. Witnesses told The Balochistan Post that police had erected barriers, used abusive language towards female demonstrators, and turned Islamabad into "a prison" under government orders.
The Balochistan Post quoted Nadia Baloch, sister of detained BYC leader Mahrang Baloch, as saying that their intention was simply to hold a peaceful protest, but authorities forced them to shift their venue. She noted that while routes were open on 14 August, the following day all approaches to the Press Club were sealed. According to her, protesters, including women and children, were not only stopped but also subjected to manhandling and verbal abuse, and a heavy police deployment continues to surround them.
According to the report, despite the restrictions, the protesters managed to hold their seminar, which was attended by human rights activists, lawyers, students, and family members of the missing. Speakers addressed issues of state repression in Balochistan, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial detentions, and human rights violations.
Speakers condemned state repression, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial detentions, and human rights abuses, stressing that peaceful protest is a constitutional right. The protesters renewed their calls for an end to enforced disappearances, the immediate presentation of detained leaders before a court, and respect for civil liberties.
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