Pakistan: Khan of Kalat condemns Islamabad Police's action against Baloch women

He said that the treatment of the Baloch women and children by the masters of Islamabad can never be forgiven. He said that the people of the world have witnessed these inhuman atrocities, according to The Balochistan Post report.

Mir Sulaiman Dawood Ahmedzai said that innocent Baloch people had gone to Islamabad to seek justice and mourn their loved ones who had been disappeared by the state for decades. He said that the oppressors inflicted inhumane atrocities on them that were unbearable and would never be forgotten.

He said, "I will never forget and never forgive this abuse of the followers of Islam and the masters of Islamabad; it is the worst humiliation of Baloch tradition as well as humanity," The Balochistan Post reported.

He thanked Manzoor Pashteen's family, Loralai, Rakhni, Barkhan, Fort Munro, Dera Ghazi Khan, Taunsa, the brave women of the Aurat March, human rights representatives, journalists and everyone who participated in the march.

He expressed gratitude to Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousufzai, Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, the European Union, the Norwegian government and all the Balochs living across the world. Greta Thunberg offered support to Baloch protesters, The Balochistan Post reported.

In a post shared on X, Thunberg stated, "Climate justice activists all over the world stand in solidarity with @MahrangBaloch_ and other peaceful protesters who have been detained, tortured and disrupted by Islamabad police for protesting against human rights abuses in Balochistan."

Khan of Kalat expressed gratitude to Pakistani author and journalist Hanif Mohammad for returning the "Sitara e Imtiaz" award in protest of the action against Baloch protesters.

In a post shared on X, Hanif Mohammad stated, "In protest, returning my Sitara e Imtiaz, given to me by a state that continues to abduct and torture Baloch citizens. Journalists of my generation have seen @SammiBaluch and @MahrangBaloch_ grow up in protest camps. Ashamed to witness a new generation being denied basic dignity."

Days after being held for protesting against 'enforced disappearances' against the Pakistani government, the detained Baloch protestors were released by the Islamabad Police on Sunday, after their bail was approved, The News International reported.

The development came after the Baloch protesters gave a three-day ultimatum to the Islamabad authorities, seeking the release of all students and demanding the dismissal of all the cases against the protestors.

Earlier on Wednesday night, the Islamabad police used excessive force and rounded up all the Baloch protestors, who converged in the capital to stage a protest demonstration against "enforced disappearances." The long march led by Baloch women started their journey from Balochistan on December 6, The News International reported.

Notably, the police action against the Baloch women and men triggered widespread condemnations from human rights bodies and political parties. Even the federal ministers admitted that the "protestors who reached Islamabad from Balochistan were not involved in the violence."

Earlier this week, Islamabad Police detained several Baloch protesters after using water cannons and baton charges to break up a protest against enforced disappearances, ARY News reported. Soon after the arrests, the Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court.

While hearing the petition filed by long march organisers against the "illegal" arrests of Baloch protestors, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled that it is their "constitutional right" to hold protests.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has condemned what it termed the violent state crackdown on Baloch protesters, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.

In a statement, HRCP Commission Chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt said the commission was appalled by the state's response to peaceful protesters, with unwarranted force in the form of water cannons and batons being used on women, children and the elderly.

The statement reads, "Numerous women protesters have reportedly been arrested and separated from their male relatives and allies. At least one Baloch woman journalist covering the long march has also been arrested. This treatment of Baloch people exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression is inexcusable," Dawn reported.

The HRCP urged the authorities to release all those detained immediately and unconditionally. It said that an obdurate state that responds to calls for the right to life, liberty and due process to be held by using force at every stage is a state that has shed its constitutional and moral responsibility for protecting and fulfilling the rights of all people, according to Dawn report

The statement released by HRCP reads, "We strongly urge the government to organise a delegation immediately to meet the protesters, give their legitimate demands a fair hearing and commit to upholding the rights of the Baloch people. The state's widespread use of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings also warrants a prompt and transparent investigation as well as a commitment to hold the perpetrators accountable." (ANI)