On the first day of Eid-ul-Fitr, thousands of people across Balochistan took to the streets to protest the arrest of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders. Women, children, elderly and youth gathered in cities and villages, demanding the immediate release of Dr. Mahrang Baloch and other detained leaders.
Protests erupted in Panjgur, Hub, Khuzdar, Kalat, Nushki, Kharan, Buleida Zamuran, Mand, Rakhshan, Mastung, Mashkail, Chagai, Tump, Surab, Washuk, Dhadar, Jhao, Yakmach, and various other towns and cities.
The demonstrators called for justice for BYC leaders, including Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen , Beebo Baloch, Sabghatullah Shah Ji, Bibagar Baloch, and Wahab Baloch. Protesters also demanded accountability for the BYC activists killed in police firing in Quetta.
Carrying banners, placards, and pictures of the detained leaders, thousands of women and protesters chanted slogans against state oppression. Speakers at the protests condemned the crackdown on BYC as an act of fascism, calling for the immediate release of the detained leaders and the recovery of Sabghatullah Shah Ji.
They accused the state of gross human rights violations in Balochistan, stating that the arrests and enforced disappearances of activists were intensifying. They criticized the silence of the ruling authorities and their allies, asserting that such repression could not silence the Baloch resistance.
The speakers declared that despite the state crackdown, the people of Balochistan had overcome fear and were now actively resisting oppression. They warned that today’s massive protests should serve as a wake-up call for the state, which has failed morally and resorted to extreme violence. However, they stressed that no amount of state brutality could suppress the people’s resistance.
Protesters vowed that enforced disappearances and state oppression in Balochistan would not be tolerated. They asserted that for over 30 years, Balochistan had not witnessed a joyful occasion, emphasizing the need for unity to continue their struggle for survival.
Local BYC leaders hailed the massive turnout as a testament to the strength of Baloch political resistance. They reaffirmed that repression and violence could not crush a people’s movement and demanded the release of all detained leaders, along with justice for the activists killed in police firing.
