July 24, 2025
Staff Report
LAHORE
Families of missing persons—many of them elderly women, mothers, and children—are being harassed and evicted from their rented accommodations in Islamabad in what appears to be an attempt to force them to end their protest, now in its ninth day.
The protesters are demanding the release of Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) leaders, including Dr. Mahrang Baloch, and calling for an end to enforced disappearances. In a statement issued on Thursday, the BYC accused government authorities of escalating the intimidation and harassment of women protesters.
Heavy police deployment continues, and roads leading to the Islamabad Press Club remain sealed, apparently to isolate the demonstration and limit its visibility. “After protest hours, police are now following and threatening students and family members at their private residences, forcing them to vacate their flats,” the BYC said.
“The systematic targeting of peaceful protesters—women, the elderly, and children—is not only a violation of democratic rights but a calculated act of cruelty meant to crush their resolve,” the statement added.
Despite the harassment, intimidation, and isolation, the protesters—mostly women and children—remain undeterred. Their resilience, the BYC said, is a powerful act of defiance. “We call on conscious citizens, journalists, and rights defenders to raise their voices and stand in solidarity,” the statement urged.
The families, who travelled from Balochistan to participate in the demonstration, were initially housed in two rented accommodations in Islamabad. Around 30 protesters stayed at one location, while 15 others were living in another.
“Three days ago, these families were forcibly evicted from their lodgings at around 1 am by the landlords,” lawyer and human rights defender Imaan Mazari told Voicepk.net. “On July 23, police harassed and intimidated students from Balochistan at another residence where some of the families had sought temporary shelter,” she added.
Almost 14 Baloch families, including relatives of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders, are participating in the sit-in. “They were all evicted from their accommodation by their landlord, reportedly under pressure from state authorities, who are also constantly pressuring speakers and tent owners not to accommodate the protesters,” said Nadia Baloch, sister of Mahrang Baloch.
Despite these efforts to obstruct their protest, the families and their supporters are being prevented from accessing the National Press Club. Police have used barricade wires to block the families from reaching the press club, and buses have been arranged, seemingly to obscure the protest from public view, with authorities falsely claiming that the road is blocked by the protesters. Furthermore, participants are being harassed by the police.
Adding to their challenges, the families are enduring heavy rain and harsh hot weather. The authorities have even cut off the water supply to the bathrooms the families were using at the protest venue, further exacerbating their already difficult living conditions, Baloch added.
According to Mazari, the families of missing persons are facing severe challenges in finding alternative accommodation during the protest. “Police are reportedly pressuring landlords, forcing them to cut off electricity, water, and gas supply in order to evict the tenants,” she told Voicepk.net.
Mazari said that despite threats and intimidation by authorities in Islamabad, the women protesters have shown remarkable courage. “Even today, they were not allowed to erect tents despite the hot and sweltering weather in the federal capital,” she said, adding that police have cordoned off the protest site to conceal it from public view.
The families say they have exhausted every peaceful and legal avenue. They’ve filed FIRs, approached commissions, and written letters to elected officials—but have received no response. “All we’ve received is silence,” said one protester.
In Balochistan, the phenomenon of enforced disappearances has become a grim reality. Sons, fathers, and brothers vanish without a trace—often allegedly picked up by security agencies—leaving families with only rumours and dread.
While successive governments have made promises—forming parliamentary committees and missing persons commissions—families say these mechanisms have delivered little beyond lip service.