Hub: The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has issued a strong statement condemning the police crackdown on its peaceful protest rally in Hub, alleging that several demonstrators, including women and human rights workers, remain in illegal detention without access to legal counsel.
According to the BYC’s central spokesperson, the peaceful rally held on July 5 at Hub Chowki concluded without any incident. However, as protesters were dispersing, police allegedly launched an unprovoked attack involving tear gas and live fire, arresting five peaceful demonstrators, including four women. Among the detained women are relatives of enforced disappearance victims and a BYC activist.
The organization further claimed that the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s coordinator, Abdullah Baloch, was also arrested during the crackdown and has been in custody for over 20 hours without any legal justification provided by the authorities.
BYC legal representatives attempting to meet the detainees at the police station were reportedly turned away and informed that all individuals had been transferred to Gadani Jail without any formal legal procedure.
The protest was organized in response to the killing of Zeeshan Zaheer, son of BYC’s regional member and long-term enforced disappearance victim Zaheer Baloch, whose whereabouts have remained unknown for over a decade.
The shooting incident reportedly occurred when police attempted to stop the rally near Seerat Chowk and tried to arrest BYC leaders, triggering further unrest.
BYC-led protests have since spread across Balochistan, facing similar crackdowns in various districts. A day earlier, a BYC rally in Karachi was also violently dispersed by Sindh police, resulting in the brief arrest of four activists, including women leaders, who were later released.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee has appealed to national and international human rights organizations to take immediate notice of state repression in Balochistan and support the right to peaceful protest for political activists.
