Islamabad: The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a prominent organiser of the Baloch protest march in Islamabad, has given a seven-day ultimatum to the Pakistan government for the fulfilment of their demands, including the “elimination of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.”
Mahrang Baloch, the face of the movement, outlined a series of demands during a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday.
Mahrang called for a detailed investigation into rights violations in Baluchistan, proposing the involvement of a UN Working Group.
The demands included signing an agreement, under the Working Group’s auspices, for the elimination of “enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings”. She also demanded the release of all victims of enforced disappearances, restrictions on the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), and the elimination of “state-sponsored death squads”.
The Ministry of Interior was urged to “confess” the alleged deaths of disappeared persons in fake encounters, accompanied by an acknowledgement letter and a press conference naming all victims.
Mahrang also called for the withdrawal of fake cases against peaceful protesters.
“If the state does not hold sincere negotiations on the above demands and does not show seriousness and if the treatment of the past week with protesters continues, then after seven days, the movement will express its disappointment with all state institutions against state policies of genocide and treating Balochistan like a colony and put its case before the Baloch people,” she said.
The Baloch activist also emphasised that the state must demonstrate seriousness in ending human rights violations and illegal measures in Balochistan to prove its commitment to resolving the “Baloch genocide.”
She alleged that the state tried to suppress the Baloch sit-in by using police and administration in the federal capital.
“The decision will be in the court of the Baloch people if the state is not ready to change its colonial mindset,” she said, addressing the press conference.
She alleged that the Pakistan state is treating protesters “like enemies,” and harassing the protestors during the night.
Mahrang also criticised a few elements from the journalistic community, alleging that “state personnel in the garb of journalism” attempted to create a false narrative.
“The whole of Balochistan is in the grip of state violence and barbarism currently and every day there seems to be an increase in this. When the state treats peaceful protesters like this in front of the global media, then you can understand what the state’s behaviour is without the presence of the media or the internet,” she also said.
Videos shared by the BYC depicted confrontations with the police, disruptions during seminar preparations, and instances of the forceful removal of speakers.
Saira, another protestor, lamented the state’s actions, stating that households in Balochistan regularly experience disappearances.
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“We were going to hold a press conference but the police tried to take away the speakers and the participants. The police and the administration are panicking. There is no household in Balochistan that has not found a mutilated body. Institutions make our household members disappear before our very eyes,” she added.
The BYC’s press conference took place after hundreds of participants in the long march were detained by the Islamabad police, leading to condemnations from various quarters, including human rights organisations, politicians, and the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The march, initiated on December 6 in response to an alleged extrajudicial killing by CTD officials, reached the federal capital on December 20. The IHC urged fair treatment and directed the police not to harass protesters, allowing them to stage peaceful protests.
The interior ministry’s statement mentioned the release of 34 more arrested protesters after fulfilling legal requirements, following negotiations with the committee established on the prime minister’s instructions.
This was also confirmed by the BYC in a social media post on X, stating, “Finally, the remaining 34 protesters have been returned now.”
