Pakistan: Baloch Yakjehti Committee denies government claim to have released 290 Baloch protestors

Islamabad [Pakistan]: The Baloch Yakjehti Committee denied the claims made by the Islamabad government to have released 290 protestors and highlighted that only 160 protestors had been released until now.

The committee emphasised that over 100 protestors are still in police custody or are “missing,” adding that where are these missing people, no one knows at all.

They further said that the Islamabad police had not provided correct information to the protesters and the media, stressing that one of the detained protestors, Zaheer Baloch, was still missing.
“We are concerned about his life,” the committee added.

Meanwhile, Mahrang Baloch, one of the march organisers, demanded the release of all the protesters “or otherwise we will be forced to take hard steps. Our demand is to release all detainees and this is our clear last warning.”

However, the Pakistan caretaker government claimed that 290 Baloch protesters who were arrested during a demonstration in Islamabad against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings had been released from jail and police custody.

The interior ministry posted on X, stating that the decision was taken in light of the negotiations held between the Baloch demonstrators and a cabinet committee.

The Baloch protest march was started in Turbat on December 6 after the alleged extrajudicial killing of a Baloch youth by Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel and reached the federal capital last week.

However, following their protest, they were met with brutal force and over 200 protestors were taken into custody by the Islamabad police.

Later, to raise their voice against the crackdown, the march led by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee converted into a sit-in outside the National Press Club.

Earlier on Saturday, the BYC gave a three-day ultimatum to the government to quash the cases registered against students and activists and release all of the protesters. The same day, the Islamabad police announced they were releasing all the detained protesters after their bail was approved.

Moreover, the police had also set up a “special help centre” for the release of incarcerated individuals.
The interior ministry issued a statement on Monday, confirming the release of 290 detained protesters. “Peaceful protests are the right of every citizen but no one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands,” it said.

It added that the security of the Red Zone had been ensured in every way, as it houses the Diplomatic Enclave and other constitutional bodies. The special help centre set up by the police has completed its job, the ministry said.