ISLAMABAD: An ethnic Baloch activist leader on Friday announced that she would lead a sit-in protest against “enforced disappearances” and “genocide” in Islamabad on Saturday, demanding the release of protesters arrested by the capital city’s police earlier this week.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch, 30, is leading a 1,600 km long march from Pakistan’s southwestern Turbat district in Balochistan to the capital city organized by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) under her. Marchers part of the BYC’s protest say they are protesting against human rights abuses perpetuated by state agencies.
The march followed protests that have been going on since November in Balochistan over the alleged extrajudicial killing of a 24-year-old ethnic Baloch man. The killing has renewed debate over extrajudicial detentions and deaths in Balochistan where such incidents are not uncommon, though state agencies deny complicity.
The protest turned violent on Wednesday night when clashes broke out between Islamabad Police and marchers after they arrived at the outskirts of the capital city. While the protesters said police attacked their peaceful rally, Islamabad’s top cop alleged that some protesters pelted stones at police personnel. Police said they had arrested over 200 protesters after clashes broke out, but the government said a day later that they had released all women and children.
“This movement will continue. Tomorrow, at 10:00 a.m., we will go toward the press club in Islamabad,” Baloch said in a video message. “I would like to request all the media in Islamabad, even international media, to come as well. We will ensure our voices are heard.”
Baloch demanded the government ensure the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in Balochistan is made “non-active” and all protesters detained by police are released.
“These are the demands that we are making on the basis of humanity,” she said. “We are not against any state institution, neither are we propagating any anti-state narrative. Our demand is that the genocide in Balochistan should end.”
Rights activists Sammi Deen Baloch and Abdul Salam moved the Islamabad High Court on Thursday, seeking the release of the protesters.
According to Pakistani newspaper Dawn, the petitioners’ counsel Attaullah Kundi told the court on Friday that Baloch women were forcefully repatriated to Balochistan by police in buses on Thursday night.
Islamabad Police chief Akbar Nasir Khan told the court he had arranged for the protesters’ transport.
“Wait a moment … where did you take them? Why did you send them? They could have stayed in Islamabad wherever they wanted to,” IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq was quoted as saying by Dawn.
“Whether they stay in Islamabad, protest or go home. It is their choice,” he remarked.
Justice Farooq inquired where the detained protesters were staying, to which Khan replied the arrested women were staying at a hostel in I-10 sector.
The court ordered police to inform the petitioners and their counsels about the address of the destinations where the Baloch women have been taken and said the persons responsible should be accounted for, Dawn said.
Hearing into the case was adjourned till Dec. 27.
Last month, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Balochistan issued a statement, seen by Arab News, saying Balach Baloch, the man killed in Turbat, had confessed in custody to being a militant and carrying out a number of attacks. He was arrested on Nov. 20, as per the statement, in possession of five kilograms of explosive materials.
Balach was later killed in a raid on a militant hideout in the city of Turbat, the CTD said. The killing unleashed sit-ins and strikes across the province. Balach’s family has refuted CTD claims, saying he was not involved in any unlawful activities but was picked up by the CTD on Oct. 29 and later killed in a “fake encounter.”
Political leaders, human rights activists and families of victims have for decades spoken against killings in Balochistan by security agencies in staged encounters, a practice where officials claim the victim was killed in a gunfight though they were summarily executed. Authorities deny involvement in such incidents.
Baloch activist to lead protest in Islamabad on Saturday against alleged rights abuses
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Baloch activist to lead protest in Islamabad on Saturday against alleged rights abuses
- Dr. Maharang Baloch announces sit-in protest against “genocide” in Balochistan outside Islamabad’s press club on Saturday
- Hundreds from southwestern Pakistan arrived in Islamabad earlier this week to protest alleged rights abuses in Balochistan
Imran Khan’s party seeks ‘confidence-building measures’ after government’s talks offer
- PTI says access to jailed founding leader essential for talks to be considered credible
- Government says it’s ready for dialogue but nothing will happen until Khan favors the idea
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party said on Saturday it would only consider the government’s offer for talks credible if it is accompanied by “concrete confidence-building measures,” such as unhindered access to its founding leader in a high-security prison in Rawalpindi.
Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was fully prepared to hold a dialogue with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to address political polarization that has deepened since the downfall of the PTI administration in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022.
PTI has frequently complained about a state crackdown against its top leadership, including Khan and his wife, who are serving prison sentences in multiple cases ranging from corruption charges to inciting violence against state institutions and attacks on government properties.
Sharif’s offer for talks came amid media reports that PTI wanted a dialogue with the government, though he noted that negotiations would not be allowed to proceed on the basis of “blackmailing” or unlawful demands and would only cater to legitimate issues.
“Announcements of talks, without concrete confidence-building measures, cannot be treated as credible progress,” Azhar Leghari, PTI’s central deputy information secretary, told Arab News.
He recalled that Khan had authorized Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to carry forward with the dialogue process, adding that talks “require trust, and trust cannot be built at the cost of constitutional rights or democratic legitimacy.”
“For dialogue to be meaningful, it is essential that these authorized representatives are allowed regular and unhindered access to Imran Khan so that any engagement accurately reflects his views and PTI’s collective position,” he added.
Khan’s family, party and legal team have complained in the past they are stopped by the authorities from meeting the ex-PM in prison. Last month, they also raised concerns about his health, prompting the officials to allow one of his sisters to meet him, who said he was fine.
Shortly thereafter, a scathing message was posted on his social media account, criticizing the army chief. Khan’s post elicited a bitter response from the government and the military amid accusations of inciting people against state institutions.
Leghari’s comments came only a day after Rana Sanaullah, adviser to Prime Minister Sharif on political affairs, said PTI’s “second- or third-tier leadership” wanted dialogue, but nothing was going to happen until Khan favored these negotiations.
He also maintained that while the government was ready for talks, “uncertainty and delays from PTI are preventing progress.”
Meanwhile, a newly formed National Dialogue Committee of former PTI leaders told Arab News it had organized a session on Wednesday, January 7, in the federal capital that will bring together all major political parties, journalists, lawyers and representatives of civil society.
“Our goal is to bring political leaders together so that, while discussing their own issues, they can collectively seek solutions to the nation’s challenges,” Mahmood Baqi Moulvi, a Pakistani politician and member of the committee, said.
“The initiative also builds on previous efforts, including a letter to the prime minister requesting confidence-building measures to enable talks with PTI,” he added.
The National Dialogue Committee had urged the government in the letter to grant parole to jailed party figures in Lahore, including former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Dr. Yasmin Rashid, describing the move as vital for building trust ahead of negotiations.
It had also maintained such a step “would not only create an extremely positive, conducive, and trust-filled environment for the negotiations but would also lay a strong foundation for restoring mutual confidence among all stakeholders.”
While the government has also offered dialogue in the past, PTI leaders have conditioned participation on substantive measures, including what they describe as an end to politically motivated prosecutions and arrests, restoration of fundamental rights, respect for judicial independence and a credible roadmap toward free and fair elections.
“Reconciliation is possible, but it must be based on correcting injustices rather than managing optics,” Leghari said. “A genuine reset requires restoring respect for the Constitution, ending political victimization and allowing democratic processes to function without interference.”
Rana Sanaullah and Deputy Law Minister Barrister Aqeel Malik did not respond to requests for comment.
