QUETTA, BALOHISTAN: Pakistani forces and intelligence agencies raided a Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) press conference being held at the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons camp in Quetta, harassing women and participants, and arrested three individuals including Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Zubair Shah Agha, who were subsequently forcibly disappeared.
The press conference was being organized by Advocate Nadia Baloch, sister of imprisoned BYC chairperson Dr. Mahrang Baloch, in which she was presenting her stance against the life imprisonment sentences handed down to her sister Dr. Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shah Ji.
Advocate Nadia Baloch stated that not only those who came to attend the press conference were taken into custody, but also those who showed solidarity with them or provided basic assistance.
She said, “Even those who stood by us and gave us water are not being spared.”
According to the Baloch Yekjehti Committee, these actions amount to a crackdown on political activities and freedom of expression, while authorities have yet to issue any official statement regarding the matter.
In a video circulating on social media, security forces can be seen openly grabbing participants of the press conference by their arms and forcibly dragging them away.
