ISLAMABAD: Amnesty International, a high-profile global rights organization, criticized police in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Friday for the “unlawful use of force” to disperse protesters demonstrating against an alleged enforced disappearance last month.
Civil society groups and activists in Balochistan have frequently raised concerns about enforced disappearances, accusing state agencies of unlawfully detaining individuals to suppress dissenting voices, a claim the government has consistently denied.
According to the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, an ethnic rights movement, Zaheer Ahmed Baloch, a Balochistan resident and government employee, was forcibly disappeared on June 27, prompting his family’s demand to know his whereabouts.
The clash occurred on Thursday when demonstrators attempted to force their way into Quetta’s Red Zone, an area housing key government installations, to register their protest.
“Amnesty International condemns the unlawful use of force by the police in Pakistan, including the use of tear gas and batons at a peaceful protest in Quetta on 11 July and the mass arbitrary and unlawful arrests of peaceful protesters,” it said in a social media post.
“The protest was organized by the Baloch community in Quetta calling for the safe return of Zaheer Ahmed Baloch, who was forcibly disappeared on 27 June,” it continued. “Amnesty International has received information of several protesters who were injured and are in need of urgent medical treatment.”
Amnesty International highlighted “the arbitrary detention of peaceful protesters” violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Pakistan is a signatory.
The organization urged the government to provide medical treatment to all injured protesters, especially those still in police custody.
Additionally, it called on authorities to immediately and unconditionally disclose the whereabouts of detained protesters and to either release all demonstrators or charge and try them promptly in a civilian court.
“Drop all charges against peaceful protesters,” it added.
Balochistan has witnessed a low-level insurgency by Baloch nationalist groups, who accuse the Pakistani government of exploiting the province’s natural resources while neglecting its development, a claim the state denies.
This province’s volatile situation has led to an increased influence of security and law enforcement agencies, exacerbating tensions between the state and the disaffected segments of Baloch society.
Amnesty International criticizes police in Pakistan’s southwest for ‘unlawful use of force’ against protesters
https://arab.news/vdbct
Amnesty International criticizes police in Pakistan’s southwest for ‘unlawful use of force’ against protesters
- Baloch demonstrators had a clash with police in Quetta while protesting enforced disappearances in the province
- Amnesty urged the Pakistani authorities to ‘drop all charges against peaceful protesters’ in a social media post
Pakistan vows full support for Somalia at UN after Israel’s recognition of Somaliland
- Pakistan Deputy PM Ishaq Dar speaks to Somalia’s Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali
- Israel last week recognized breakaway region Somaliland, triggering among from Muslim states
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday vowed to extend full support to Somalia at the UN and other multilateral fora after Israel last week recognized Somaliland, a breakaway African region, triggering anger among Muslim nations.
Israel this week announced it had recognized Somaliland — a self-declared region that broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not previously been recognized by any United Nations member state — triggering condemnation from Somalia and criticism from regional bodies.
The foreign ministers of 21 Muslim nations, including Pakistan and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), released a joint statement on Saturday condemning Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, saying the move was a violation of the principles of the UN charter and international law.
Dar received a phone call from Somalia’s Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali on Sunday during which the latter thanked Islamabad for supporting Somalia in the wake of recent developments, the Pakistani foreign office said. He also sought Pakistan’s assistance in raising Somalia’s concerns at the UN Security Council, the foreign ministry said.
“The DPM/FM reaffirmed Pakistan’s full support for Somalia’s sovereignty & territorial integrity and condemned any actions aimed at undermining it,” the statement said.
“The DPM/FM affirmed Pakistan’s full support for Somalia at the UN and other multilateral fora.”
Israel’s move to recognize the breakaway region triggered anger among Muslim nations worldwide after international media reports earlier this year said Israel and the US had reached out to East African states, including Somaliland, to take in Palestinians from Gaza.
The joint statement by Muslim states said they rejected any attempts to “forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land.”
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also condemned Israel’s move to recognize the breakaway region on Sunday, describing it as a threat to the stability of the region and the world.
Critics argue that Israel has long lobbied to carve up the region further under various guises.
This recognition of Somaliland is seen by many in the Arab world as a continuation of a strategy aimed at weakening centralized Arab and Muslim states by encouraging peripheral secessionist movements.
