Over 100 prominent civil society leaders have written an open letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif seeking the release of incarcerated Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders Dr Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch and others.
Last Friday, the police used tear gas and water cannons and fired blank shots to disperse BYC protesters, who had staged a sit-in on the Sariab Road near the University of Balochistan, against alleged enforced disappearances, including its leader Bebarg Baloch. The provincial government and the BYC had reported casualties on their respective sides as a result of each other’s actions.
The situation further escalated when BYC chief organiser Mahrang was arrested in the early hours of Saturday and was booked under terror charges along with 150 others. Responding to BYC’s call, shutter-down strikes were staged over the weekend in various cities of Balochistan — including Quetta, Panjgur, Kalat, Turbat, Mastung, Kharan, Chaghi, Dalbandin and Dhadar.
Police also detained BYC leader Sammi under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance in Karachi on Tuesday, shortly after a judicial magistrate ordered her release, along with four other activists in a case related to the violation of Section 144.
“We, the undersigned citizens of Pakistan, urge you to take immediate action to release Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Baloch, and other detained leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) before Eid so they can spend it with their loved ones,” read the letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com.
“Their arrests are a blatant attempt to silence voices advocating for an end to enforced disappearances and for fundamental rights and justice for the people of Balochistan,” the letter continued.
The letter expressed alarm at the treatment of women activists at the hands of law enforcement agencies and denounces the deployment of “excessive force” against peaceful protesters.
The signatories are prominent educationists, politicians, journalists and human rights activists including senior journalist Hamid Mir, former senator Afrasiab Khattak, Human Rights Watch Senior Counsel Asia Division Saroop Ijaz and PPP Human Rights Cell president Farhatullah Babar.
The demands of the signatories include the immediate release of detained BYC leaders, an end to enforced disappearances, the initiation of a meaningful political dialogue with the Baloch people, and to investigate into the alleged police brutality against the activists by conducting an independent investigation.
The letter also condemned the “unconstitutional re-arrest of BYC leaders”, including women activists, adding that “the MPO is being abused in clear violation of due process to detain activists after courts have granted them bail”.
“The ongoing crackdown on peaceful protests, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan have created a climate of fear and repression,” the letter read.
“The situation in Balochistan is dire, and denying a political dialogue will only deepen the crisis,” it added.
