Karachi: The right to protest in Pakistan seems to be unavailable to the Baloch people; even holding a peaceful protest to highlight the grave problems they have been facing appears to be challenging.
Since December 20 of last year, Baloch women, men and children have been leading a sit-in protest in freezing weather in the capital city of Islamabad.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), led by Mahrang Baloch, initiated the Baloch women’s protest, which saw protesters traveling over 1,600 km from Turbat town in Balochistan province to Islamabad, and which has now lasted for over 50 days.
They are protesting the forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings that have allegedly taken place in Balochistan over many years.
Relatives of the missing persons who have joined the protest in Islamabad have received threats from and are being harassed by the authorities.
First information reports (FIRs) have been filed against protesters and the victims’ families have been asked to pay ransoms.
Mahrang Baloch shared her personal experience with The Wire. She recounted how in 2006, when her father Abdul Ghaffar Lango was abducted, the authorities denied his abduction but later demanded a substantial ransom.
Faced with this situation, her uncle had to sell a piece of land to gather the required ransom.
She spoke recalled the time when she and her siblings wore new clothes that her mother had made to welcome her father. She endured the painful moments of waiting for a family member, only to have him taken away from them forever in the end.
Mahrang Baloch is one of the leaders and organisers of the protest. Photo: Screenshot from X/@BYCislamabad.
“Now, these families have received hope that their relatives are in the custody of the state. Initially, the state denied abducting Balochs. However, demanding ransom is proof that the state and its sponsored death squads are indeed responsible for the abductions,” said Mahrang.
There’s even a case that was reported in the local media, where the family of a little girl, Muqadas Baloch, paid 90 lakh Pakistani rupees for the release of her father.
But sometimes the Baloch “also have to pay ransoms for the dead bodies of those who were abducted,” Mahrang added.
Protesters’ families also under pressure
Mohammad Sharif from Balochistan’s Wadh town is a member of one such family. His brother was abducted in 2015. When he joined the Baloch women’s protest, the authorities allegedly warned him to either leave Mahrang’s movement or be ready to face the consequences.
He alleged that Shafiq Mengal, who runs the death squads in Khuzdar, threatened him with serious consequences if he did not leave the sit-in and demanded a ransom for the release of his relative.
He criticised the state, and said that Mengal is just a puppet and that it is the state that operates the death squads, killing and abducting their own people.
People in Lyari protest in support of the Baloch women’s protest in Islamabad. Photo: Veengas.
According to him, the state treats the Baloch as slaves; but he said the Baloch will never bow down to state-sponsored death squads and that they only bow down to their mothers.
Sharif further added that regardless of the threats he receives, he will continue supporting Mahrang, who takes risks for the Baloch nation.
“What is the purpose of a court that cannot deliver justice to us?” Sharif asks. “It would be better if the courts were simply locked.”
Mumtaz Baloch, a relative of another victim and a resident of Wadh, complained about Mengal threatening and warning her family members. He alleged that Mengal asked them to leave the protest, stating that if they did not comply, they would not return and the hearing in the case of his missing relative would not continue.
Moreover, Ali Dost, who is from Turbat and is a relative of another victim, said that while he was travelling with the protest, military personnel raided his house, inquired about him and asked his family to ask him to return.
Dost added that the military personnel also imposed a ban on agriculture-related work on his farming land and warned his family saying that if he did not return, he too would be abducted.
People in Balochistan’s Turbat protest the alleged forced disappearances. Photo: X/@BalochYakjehtiC.
The Baloch women at the protest were also threatened and warned to leave, but they refused to do so.
Saba Baloch from Kalat shared that military personnel barged into her house and asked her father to call her back from the protest. They even tried to force her father to sign a paper, but he declined, she said.
She is worried about her family; since her brother was abducted in 2013, they have allegedly been facing continuous threats and harassment. Saba said that whenever she and her family heard the noise of vehicles, they feared that military personnel were again coming to raid and torture them.
In spite of the risk, she said she chose to join the sit-in in Islamabad because her family is neither safe at home nor anywhere else.
Mahrang issued a video message saying that her family and her life were in danger. She mentioned that both the federal government and the Balochistan provincial government have initiated a campaign against her.
Despite allegations from Balochistan information minister Jan Achakzai that Mahrang’s social media account was operated from India, she emphasised that her safety is at risk.
She further stated that if something were to happen to her or her family, both the federal government and the Balochistan government would be responsible for it.
Young girls protest in Lyari, carrying the portrait of Karima Baloch and of Mahrang Baloch. Photo: Veengas.
‘The state fears the Baloch women’s protest’
This movement is about Baloch nationalism and protecting the existence of the Baloch people. Consequently, common people are increasingly becoming part of the movement, said Mahrang.
The police have registered numerous cases against protesters, and local authorities are reported to have warned shopkeepers against providing loudspeakers or microphones to the protesters.
According to initial reports, more than 14 FIRs have been registered against over 3,000 protesters. Among them, an FIR has been filed against Mahrang in Sindh’s Khairpur district. Surprisingly, she has never been to Khairpur.
Qazi Khizar, vice chairman of the Sindh chapter of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, criticised the government for continuously harassing protesters.
“The Baloch women’s protest in Islamabad speaks according to the constitution and the state is acting unconstitutionally,” explained Khizar as he joined the protests.
An FIR has been filed against him. “The state is fearful of the protests, as non-Balochs are joining the demonstrators,” he says.
Wahab Baloch, leader of the BYC’s Karachi chapter, says they have held protests in Malir, Lyari and various areas of Karachi, always maintaining a peaceful approach.
People hold a demonstration in Balochistan’s Awaran. Photo: X/@BalochYakjehtiC.
However, he said it seems that the local authorities are not promoting peace, adding that. they will persist in their struggle and continue holding peaceful protests until justice is delivered to the Baloch nation.
Mahrang shared that in Awaran, a city of Balochistan and one of its most war-affected areas, Baloch people are required to get approval from military checkposts in order to travel. Even locals organising ceremonies have to submit a guest list to the military detailing the number of attendees. In essence, the movements of Balochs in Awaran is restricted and scrutinised.
Despite not having called on them to protest, the Baloch women’s protest inspired locals in Awaran, a military-controlled area, to voluntarily announce a protest.
This initiative is not unique to Awaran; in many areas, locals have initiated protests willingly.
“Balochs are not afraid; instead, this time, it is the state that fears the Baloch women’s protest. When even children participate in a protest in Balochistan, it reflects our spirit and unwavering support,” she said.
