Baloch families mark two months of protest in Islamabad

Islamabad [Pakistan] September 14 (ANI): Sammi Deen Baloch, a prominent human rights activist, condemned the delayed justice for Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders. According to Sammi Deen Baloch, the sit-in by Baloch families demanding the safe recovery of their forcibly disappeared family members has entered its second month in the capital, highlighting a long history of persistent protests by the community against enforced disappearances and state repression.

Taking to the social media platform X, she stated that Baloch families have repeatedly taken to the streets, enduring immense hardships in their struggle for justice. In 2010, relatives of missing persons marched from Quetta to Islamabad. Three years later, in 2013, a historic long march on foot lasted more than three months, covering Quetta, Karachi, and Islamabad. Subsequent years saw prolonged protests, including the 2021 sit-in at Islamabad's D-Chowk, the 55-day sit-in in Quetta's Red Zone in 2022, and the 2023 long march that stretched over a month in the capital. Alongside these, the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons continues its hunger strike camp, which has now crossed 5,900 days.

Despite this relentless record of peaceful resistance, Baloch protesters are often dismissed as "non-political" or accused of fabricating grievances. Yet their demonstrations stand as testimony to their belief in democratic and non-violent struggle.

Protesters have braved extreme weather, long nights under the open sky, police crackdowns, tear gas, and arrests, without backing down from their demands. Government representatives occasionally held talks, but protesters say promises were never fulfilled. At the same time, state authorities often chose to ignore the demonstrations in hopes that families would abandon their struggle, she highlighted.

This dismissive policy only deepens the perception among Baloch communities that seeking justice from the state is futile. But for the families, especially mothers of the disappeared, giving up is not an option. For many, the protests are not driven by hope in the government but by the need to resist injustice and make their pain visible. As the Islamabad protest completes two months, participants vow to continue until their demands are acknowledged. (ANI)

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