July 30, 2024
Staff Report
LAHORE:
The sit-in by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) in Gwadar continues for the second day, with mobile phone and internet services suspended for three days in various areas of Balochistan, including Gwadar and Mastung.
Speaking to Voicepk, a BYC representative said that security forces conducted an operation at the sit-in site last night, detaining BYC leader Sammi Deen Baloch, Dr Sabiha Baloch and Sibghat Abdullah. They have been transferred to an unknown location.
She also said that security personnel took many BYC workers into the custody. “The sit-in will continue until all workers are released”.
On Monday, July 29, Mahrang Baloch released a video statement from Gwadar on X, claiming that around a thousand of BYC workers have been arrested over the past three days, with no information on their current whereabouts.
“Currently, the Pakistani Army and FC have launched another brutal and violent attack on the peaceful Baloch National Gathering sit-in in Gwadar,” she said.
She further stated that surrounding the sit-in from all sides, “they [Pakistan army and FC] have indiscriminately fired upon peaceful protesters and subjected them to severe violence, resulting in multiple injuries and the arrest of hundreds”.
On the other hand, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, while addressing the Provincial Assembly on Monday, invited the BYC for talks. He said that the government’s doors for negotiations with them are open.
He also added that violent protests would not be tolerated.
A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Monday mentioned that a violent mob under the guise of the so-called Baloch Raji Machi (Baloch National Gathering) attacked security forces personnel on duty in the Gwadar district. As a result, 30-year-old soldier Shabbir Baloch, a resident of Sabi district, was killed and 16 officers were injured.
The statement added that fake and malicious propaganda was being spread on social media, using doctored pictures and videos by the propagandists to gain sympathy and support for the unlawful violent march.
It is worth noting that the BYC called for a Baloch Raji Machi (Baloch National Gathering) rally in Gwadar on Sunday, July 28, to protest against forced disappearances in Balochistan. The rally turned into a sit-in following the deaths of two activists.