Islamabad: The peaceful sit-in of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) demanding the release of its imprisoned leaders and an end to enforced disappearances entered its 40th day outside the National Press Club on Sunday. On the occasion, families of the detained leaders addressed a press conference, condemning state repression and the silence of courts and media.
Speaking at the conference, Nadia Baloch, sister of BYC organizer Dr. Mahrang Baloch, along with Sammi Deen Baloch, Mahzeeb Baloch and others, said it was deeply painful that the institutions which trample the constitution daily remain free, while those fighting for the supremacy of law are behind bars.
The families emphasized that their protest is not about personal benefits but part of a decades-long struggle rooted in deprivation, repression and enforced disappearances in Balochistan. “This protest carries the tears of mothers waiting for their missing sons, the cries of children awaiting for their fathers and the voices of sisters still waiting for their brothers.
They put forward two key demands:
- The immediate release of Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Bebarg Baloch, Shaji Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch, Beebow Baloch, Imran Baloch and all BYC leaders.
- The recovery of all victims of enforced disappearances from Balochistan.
The families criticized the judiciary for repeatedly extending remands despite the absence of evidence even after five months of detention. They accused police and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of fabricating new FIRs to keep the leaders behind bars and misleading the courts. “This is nothing but a mockery of justice,” Nadia Baloch said.
They also condemned the media for distorting their demands and working under state pressure instead of amplifying the voice of the oppressed. “The very media that should stand with the weak has chosen to side with power,” they said.
Highlighting the misuse of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, they argued that police and CTD have been empowered to transfer ordinary cases to anti-terrorism courts, enabling them to criminalize peaceful activists. “Dr. Mahrang Baloch and her companions are prisoners of conscience, yet the state deliberately brands them as terrorists to silence the Baloch voice,” the families stated.
Despite the repression, they reaffirmed that their movement is and will remain peaceful. “We know tyranny cannot last forever. One day these deaf and blind institutions will be forced to hear us. One day justice will prevail,” they said.
Appealing to the public, civil society, human rights groups and the international community, they stressed: “This is not only the protest of Baloch families, but of justice, dignity and truth. If we remain silent today, tomorrow this repression will knock on someone else’s door.”
