Balochistan Yakjehti Committee (BYC), the movement fighting for the victims of forced disappearances in Pakistan’s Balochistan, has converted Baloch Rajee Muchi (Baloch National Gathering) at Gwadar into an indefinite sit-in, and given a “shutter-down strike” call for Tuesday in opposition to alleged state atrocities against protestors since Sunday.
BYC demanded accountability regarding the killings of people and the release of all the persons arrested from its rally in Gwadar on Sunday, and declared that the sit-in will not end until all those arrested are released and action is taken against the persons involved in the killing of protesters.
At least three people and one security person have been killed in clashes across Balochistan on Sunday. Two people were killed in clashes between the security forces and people going to the rally at Gwadar at a check post at Talar. People attacked the security forces after they blocked the road and prevented them from reaching the venue. One person was killed and eight were injured when security forces opened fire at protesters at Marine Drive, the venue of the rally. Security forces also arrested over 20 people from the rally, Dawn reported.
There is a communication shutdown in the province which makes it difficult to verify some of the claims. However, according to The Express Tribune, one Pakistani soldier was killed and 15 others were injured in the clashes.
Following the news of clashes, Mahrang Baloch, leader of BYC, accused the Pakistani security forces of carrying out attacks on peaceful protesters. She demanded immediate intervention by the human rights groups claiming “thousands of lives are currently at extreme risk.”
BYC had given a call for a protest rally at Gwadar on July 28 to demand justice for the victims of unlawful killings and forced disappearances of people in the province. Several human rights groups in the country and some other parties such as the Balochistan National Party (BNP) also supported the rally.
However, Pakistan security forces had unleashed a massive crackdown on the activists of BYC and others, arresting scores of them in the run up of the rally in order to prevent it from happening.
On Saturday, security forces opened fire on a convoy of protestors going to join the rally at Gwadar at Mastung. People have been holding a sit-in at Mastung against the firing since Saturday.
On Thursday, security forces had briefly detained the head of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Asad Iqbal Butt, allegedly in order to prevent him from joining the rally.
Pakistan refuses to listen to protesters
In a social media post on Monday, HRCP appealed to the Pakistan government to stop brutalizing protesters and constitute mechanisms to negotiate with them to address their genuine demands. It asserted that all citizens of Pakistan have the right to peaceful protest.
Enforced disappearances are a major political issue in Pakistan. Military and security forces in Pakistan have been accused of carrying out arbitrary killings or arrests, particularly in the peripheral provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan in the name of fighting terrorism and separatism.
The state-run Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIED) has recorded over 10,000 enforced disappearances from across the country since 2011 alone. KP tops the list with over 3,485 recorded enforced disappearances in the country, followed by Balochistan with 2,752 enforced disappearances. The actual numbers could be much higher, according to activists.
BYC had held a long protest sit-in in capital Islamabad in December through January of this year over the issue.
Ammar Ali Jan, leader of the leftist Haqooq-e-Khalq party, asked the Pakistani state to listen to the people and address their demands for justice. “For how long will the state deny them dignity and rights? For how long will the rest of the country exhibit amnesia? To save Pakistan we make Baloch struggle our own,” he said in a post on X.
Commenting on the popular resentment against the Pakistani state in Balochistan and rise of popularity of movements such as BYC, Taimur Rahman, a member of the Mazdoor Kisan party, said it is a result of “decades of exploitation and oppression.”
The Awami Workers Party (AWP) issued a statement condemning the large-scale violence against the BYC and the arrest of leaders, demanding their immediate release. AWP claimed it supports the BYC demand of the resolution of the epidemic of enforced disappearances, and for economic justice in the region.
The chief minister of Balochistan Sarfaraz Bugti claimed his government is open to negotiations with the leaders of the movement. However, he claimed that the protests were an attempt to derail the execution of billions of dollars of economic development projects in the region and that “the state will not be held hostage by anyone.”
