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A protest sit-in calling for the release of Khadija Baloch has now continued for a sixth straight day outside Bolan Medical Complex (BMC) in Quetta, The Balochistan Post (TBP) has reported.
Protesters state that no meaningful progress has been achieved despite almost a week of demonstrations, alleging that local authorities have not taken concrete measures to address their concerns. According to Khadija's fellow students, Pakistani law enforcement personnel took her into custody during a raid on the girls' hostel at Bolan Medical College in Quetta, TBP reported. Demonstrators also alleged that officials have used negotiations as a tool for pressure and intimidation instead of genuinely resolving the issue. On Sunday, pamphlets were reportedly distributed across several parts of Quetta, including near BMC Hospital, Brewery Road, and Isa Nagri, as part of an awareness campaign connected to the protest. Organisers of the sit-in said the aim of the outreach campaign was to highlight what they described as state repression, enforced disappearances, and the detention of Baloch citizens, especially women. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), which has expressed support for the protest, said authorities have remained silent while the demonstration continues and have not taken practical steps to ensure Khadija Baloch's safe release, according to TBP. In a statement, the group said Khadija's family has remained resolute throughout the six-day protest despite facing intense emotional and psychological hardship. Protesters have demanded an immediate halt to enforced disappearances and called for all such cases to be handled transparently to guarantee justice for affected families, TBP reported. Enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan remain a major human rights issue. Families often spend years searching for their missing loved ones, while activists accuse security forces of illegal detentions and staged encounters. Despite repeated demonstrations and reports from human rights organisations, accountability remains scarce. These unresolved cases continue to fuel fear, anger, and profound mistrust between the state and the Baloch community. (ANI)
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