Quetta [Pakistan] March 1 : Demonstrations and sit-ins are taking place in various cities across Balochistan, with families of those who have been forcibly disappeared as well as residents taking to the streets.
As reported by The Balochistan Post (TBP), protesters are calling for an end to suspected enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, obstructing major highways, including essential routes connected to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
For the last two days, the families of Yasir and Junaid Sarparah, Nadeem Baloch, Naseer Baloch, Ehsan Baloch, and Ameem Bugti have been holding a sit-in near Hub Chowki (Bhawani) on the Quetta-Karachi National Highway, demanding that their missing relatives be returned immediately, according to TBP.
The TBP report noted that in Surab, relatives of nine missing individuals from Zehri have staged demonstrations at two different sites, blocking traffic between Karachi, Quetta, and Makran. In addition, in Pasni, families of the disappeared once again obstructed the road to Kech on Friday, preventing travel to Gwadar and surrounding areas.
In Quetta, it was reported that security forces raided a residence late Thursday night, detaining two brothers. In reaction, their families shut down the Western Bypass, contributing to the rise in demonstrations, as reported by TBP.
Meanwhile, in Turbat, the family of Deen Jan and others are conducting a sit-in at Jaddgal Dann (D Baloch Point) on the M-8 highway. They accuse the authorities of neglecting previous promises to release missing persons and assert that they will keep the road blocked until all disappeared youths are located, the TBP report mentioned.
At the same time, in Karachi, the Baloch Students Council at Benazir Bhutto University, Lyari, organized a protest rally concerning the disappearance of Yasir Baloch, a Media Sciences graduate reportedly taken by Pakistani forces on February 25 in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. Students called for his immediate release, contending that educational institutions should be safe environments for all students, TBP reported.
According to the TBP report, on Friday evening, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) Turbat held a significant rally, demanding the recovery of missing persons. Hundreds of men, women, and children marched through Turbat, carrying images of their disappeared family members and shouting slogans against enforced disappearances.
BYC leaders declared that the protest movement against enforced disappearances will be broadened throughout all areas of Balochistan and that the voices of marginalized Baloch families will not be silenced. They affirmed that Baloch women and girls will persist in their resistance, unveiling state oppression as per TBP.
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