Karachi: “The police fired directly at the head of a protester in Quetta during a peaceful demonstration on March 21,” Dr Mahrang Baloch told The Wire before her arrest early on Saturday (March 22).
Mahrang, a leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and named one of Time magazine’s most influential emerging leaders.
Mahrang said the ‘targeted killing’ shows that the state aims to escalate tensions in Balochistan.
“Baloch [people] are not allowed to hold peaceful protests and freedom of expression is stifled in the province – even women are brutally targeted by the state,” she said.
On Friday, families of victims of enforced disappearances and members of the BYC staged a peaceful protest at Quetta University. They were demonstrating against the recent abductions of Saeeda Baloch, professor Allyas Baloch, BYC organiser Bebarg Baloch and his brother.
Saeeda and Allyas were released on bail after the protest on March 21.
Police opened fire on the protesters, killing at least five people – including a 12-year-old boy – and injuring several others, as per the BYC.
According to BYC organiser Sibagatullah Shah, the BYC had custody of two bodies, while two others were at the Civil Hospital. He also quoted sources indicating that one of the injured had since died.
Many were injured, but authorities have not disclosed the locations where some of the injured or the deceased were taken, he said.
Meanwhile, some of the injured received treatment at the Civil Hospital, but the authorities have reportedly not allowed BYC members or other activists to visit them.
Mahrang stands next to the bodies of those who died during Friday’s protest. Photo: BYC.
Many Baloch men and women were taken into custody on Friday.
Early on Saturday, authorities arrested Mahrang and others in Quetta as they protested Friday’s events. Later, on Saturday evening, the police resorted to violence against people protesting Mahrang’s arrest, as per initial information from the BYC.
The government of Balochistan, backed by security forces, has intensified its crackdown on Baloch activists – particularly members and supporters of the BYC – who are increasingly targeted for their dissent.
“It was a peaceful protest. They didn’t even chant anti-state slogans, yet the police were already present and opened fire directly at the protesters,” said Shah, who led Friday’s protest in Quetta.
Mahrang arrested; authorities seize bodies of protesters
On Saturday, at around 5:30 am, police and security forces unleashed violence against peaceful protesters at Sariab Road in Quetta. The demonstrators were staging a protest with the bodies of those shot and killed during Friday’s peaceful protest.
To disperse the crowd, police used water cannons, fired tear gas and discharged warning shots.
Security forces seized the dead bodies and arrested several protesters, including leaders of the BYC, among them Mahrang Baloch.
Referring to the reported violence on Saturday evening against those protesting Mahrang’s arrest, Shah said that the state is “unwilling to resolve the situation.”
‘Baloch movement will not stop – it will only grow stronger’
Akhtar Mengal, leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), strongly condemned Mahrang’s and other protesters’ arrests, warning that the Baloch people will not tolerate such actions and that they will resist them.
“These brutal measures cannot crush peaceful movements – on the contrary, they will only strengthen them,” he said to The Wire.
Mengal also criticised the recent national security meeting where the decision to launch an operation in Balochistan was reportedly approved. He said his party opposed the meeting and its agenda.
“A military operation is already underway in the province, using heavy weapons, including those provided by China. What further permission did they need? That meeting was simply a formality to authorise an assault on political parties and peaceful movements in Balochistan.
“State authorities have described Balochistan as a ‘hard state’,” Mengal added. “But when the state kills innocent people, abducts Baloch [people], arrests peaceful political activists and seizes dead bodies – then yes, it is indeed a hard state.
Meanwhile, Balochistan witnessed a shutter-down strike in several areas on Saturday as protests erupted against the brutal use of force in the province. Many people have condemned the violence and are demanding the immediate release of Mahrang and other detained protesters.
A shutdown is observed in Quetta. Photo: BYC.
‘State has been targeting BYC after attack on Jaffar Express’
Dr Sabiha Baloch, an organising member of the BYC, told The Wire that the state was deliberately worsening the situation in Balochistan.
“After the Jaffar Express incident, the state began targeting the BYC and its leadership, including other Baloch activists,” she said. “The state has a long history of attacking peaceful political activists. Because it has failed to defeat the Baloch in the mountains, it now attacks peaceful movements to create the illusion that the military is achieving something.”
She added: “The state always targets unarmed people – like the BYC – that believe in peaceful struggle … If the state continues to target peaceful movements, people may eventually choose a different path to fight for their rights.”
But despite the pressure, Sabiha emphasised that the BYC will continue to raise its voice peacefully for the rights of the Baloch people.
“Since day one, the state has treated Balochistan like a colony,” said Mahrang. “Its brutal attack on a peaceful protest is an attempt to conceal its own failures. But the state’s violence cannot break us. If it continues this brutality, the people will resist – and the state will find no place in this province.”
