QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN: Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Sammi Deen Baloch has strongly condemned the recent crackdown on peaceful protesters in Rawalakot, in Pakistan-administered Occupied Kashmir, including direct firing on demonstrators and civilian deaths, saying the events revived painful memories of the historic “Raaji Muchi” gathering organized by BYC in Gwadar two years ago.
She said that on this very day two years ago, authorities in Gwadar had attempted by every means to stop the Raaji Muchi gathering, highways were shut down, convoys were stopped en route, buses were fired upon, unarmed protesters were shot at, dozens were injured and four civilians lost their lives.
She said today’s crackdown in Rawalakot represents a continuation of the same policy, under which dissent and peaceful resistance are consistently met with violence, gunfire and arrests. She extended condolences to the families of those killed in Rawalakot and expressed full solidarity with all those involved in the struggle.
Sammi Deen Baloch said the indiscriminate use of force against peaceful citizens never strengthens states but instead weakens their political and moral legitimacy. She questioned why every peaceful voice in the country is met with attempts to silence it at gunpoint and why the state consistently chooses repression, violence and force instead of political solutions, dialogue and listening to public demands.
She said that the same repression and crackdowns faced in Balochistan for years are now being inflicted by the same state which calls Kashmir its “jugular vein” on its own unarmed citizens there as well.
She said this makes clear that the issue is not confined to any one region but reflects a mindset that seeks to suppress every dissenting voice through force. She warned that if this force-based policy continues unchecked, its consequences will not remain limited to Balochistan or Kashmir but could engulf the entire country. She expressed regret that, rather than learning from history, those in power continue to view force as the solution to every problem.
