New Delhi: Famed Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif has returned his 'Sitara-e-Imtiaz' award in protest against Pakistan's continued coercion of Baloch people and police action on a protest march in Islamabad on December 20.

The 'Sitara-e-Imtiaz' award is the third-highest honour in Pakistan.

In his post of X, the Case of Exploding Mangoes author wrote that the award was given to him "by a state that continues to abduct and torture Baloch citizens."

"Journalists of my generation have seen @SammiBaluch and @MahrangBaloch_ grow up in protest camps. Ashamed to witness a new generation being denied basic dignity," Hanif also wrote.

Sammi Deen Baloch and Mahrang Baloch are both key activists who have campaigned against the enforced disappearances of Baloch people in Pakistan.

Reports say that police in the Pakistan capital of Islamabad cracked down on nearly 200 Baloch protesters on December 20. Dawn has reported that cops used batons, water cannon and tear gas. More than 100 Baloch students have reportedly been missing since then.

Opposition leaders, activists and commentators have severely criticised police highhandedness.

Balochistan has, since then, remained cut off from Sindh and Punjab in retaliatory protests, according to Dawn.

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