April 18, 2025
Staff Report
LAHORE
The Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) has condemned police action to dismantle a peaceful protest camp organised by the families of Mahrang Baloch and other detained persons outside the Quetta Press Club, terming it a ‘blatant and deeply troubling manifestation of authoritarianism’.
On April 18, the families of Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Sabghatullah Shah Jee, Bebagar Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch, Beebow Baloch, and others—currently detained in custody— had gathered to peacefully protest ongoing state repression.
In response however, law enforcement officials swiftly intervened, seizing tents and protest materials, and began harassing the participants, according to details provided in a BYC official statement. “This is yet another alarming example of the Pakistani state’s increasingly repressive tactics in Balochistan, where even the most basic right to peaceful assembly is being denied,” the BYC said.
The purpose of the camp has been to raise awareness about enforced disappearances and unlawful detentions, and to demand the immediate release of all political prisoners. “By obstructing this constitutionally protected form of protest, the state is not only violating fundamental rights but also reinforcing its authoritarian posture,” the BYC added.
The BYC called upon human rights organizations, civil society groups, and advocates of free expression to take immediate notice and speak out against these undemocratic actions by the government.
WAF expresses solidarity
Meanwhile activists and human rights organisations across the board, have condemned the detention of the BYC organiser Mahrang Baloch and other members in Quetta under the 3 MPO law.
In a statement, the Women’s Action Forum, expressed grave concern at the arrest of Dr Mahrang Baloch, and other BYC members. It also slammed the ongoing violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in Quetta and across Balochistan.
WAF said these actions represented a grave violation of constitutionally protected rights — including the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and due process.
“The use of anti-terrorism laws and colonial-era legislation such as the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) to suppress dissent and criminalize civic activism is unacceptable and deeply alarming,” said the statement,adding that such tactics did not only violate democratic principles but also erode public trust in the rule of law.
“The repeated targeting of women-led resistance movements and the branding of human rights defenders as threats to national security is a particularly egregious development,” the WAF said. These repressive measures further marginalise communities already enduring decades of systemic neglect and violence, the WAF added.
The WAF demanded that the unconditional release of Dr. Mahrang Baloch, and all detained activists. It called for an independent inquiry into the use of violence against peaceful protesters and those responsible for these abuses.
The Women’s Action Forum said it stood in unwavering solidarity with the Baloch Yekjehti Committee and with all those resisting oppression through peaceful and democratic means.