The protest sit-in by the families of forcibly disappeared Baloch individuals has been ongoing for the past three days at Hub Bhawani Bypass, where six affected families are protesting for the recovery of their loved ones. The state administration has failed to recover the forcibly disappeared persons and is unwilling to take legal action against the state forces. Instead, the affected families are continuously being threatened and harassed under the guise of negotiations.
This morning, state forces and intelligence personnel attacked the protesters, subjecting both men and women to brutal violence. The participants were fired upon and baton-charged. Several individuals were arrested and taken to an undisclosed location, including Seema Baloch, the sister of forcibly disappeared Shabbir Baloch. Mazib Baloch, the niece of Rashid Baloch and the elderly mother of Zafar Geeshkori, along with several other women.
The affected families remain steadfast in their stance and refuse to allow their loved ones to be turned into mutilated corpses or killed in fake encounters by state institutions. Despite severe state repression and arrests, the sit-in in Hub continues. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) reiterates its commitment to standing with the families of forcibly disappeared persons and urges the entire Baloch nation, especially the people of Karachi and Hub, to immediately join the protest in Hub.
We want to make it clear to the state that violence against unarmed protesters and the arrest of Baloch women is absolutely unacceptable. We warn the Hub administration that if all detainees, including Baloch women, are not released immediately, we will announce our next course of action, and the full responsibility for the consequences will rest with the state and the Hub administration.
