Sibghatullah Shah Ji, an imprisoned leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), stated during a family meeting in Quetta’s Huda Jail that the state had offered him release on the condition that he refrain from political activities. “But I refused,” he said. “I will continue to raise my voice against state oppression.”
The BYC leader, who is imprisoned under the 3MPO (Maintenance of Public Order) law, further revealed that similar offers were made to other detained BYC leaders by the government.
During the recent jail visit, Shah Ji’s family said he told them the government’s offer for release was conditional upon him ceasing participation in political activities, sit-ins, and protests.
According to Sibghatullah, none of the imprisoned leaders accepted the offer. “We are political activists, and our struggle is for our nation’s basic human rights. If the state does not like our protests, it should stop violating our rights.”
He added that the state forces them to protest. “As long as enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and the plundering of our resources continue, we cannot remain silent. State institutions have tried to provoke us into violence, but we have remained peaceful, as we always have.”
It is worth noting that during the recent crackdown on BYC leaders, Pakistani forces arrested Shah Ji Sibghatullah earlier this month and moved him to an undisclosed location. He was later transferred to Huda Jail under the 3MPO law.
