Pak: Baloch families continue with sit-in protest for 35th day

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 20 (ANI): Human rights body, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), has said that Baloch families have been protesting for over a month now against the forced disappearances of BYC leaders.

In a post on X, BYC said that on Tuesday, the protests entered their 35th day in Islamabad.

The families continue with their sit-in despite extreme weather, harassment, and continued state pressure.

"For over a month, these families -- including elderly mothers, fathers, and young children -- have been forced to sit under the open sky, denied even the basic right to set up a camp," the BYC said in a post on X.

The sit-in is a reflection of Pakistan's growing human rights crisis. Protests led by Baloch families and political activists continue to rock major cities, highlighting the state's alarming record of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and impunity.

Enforced disappearances in Balochistan have been a grave human rights issue for decades, rooted in the region's long-standing political and ethnic tensions. For the last several decades, Baloch nationalists, students, activists, and intellectuals have been targeted, allegedly by state security agencies, for demanding greater autonomy or rights.

Thousands have reportedly gone missing without due process, and many remain unaccounted for. Families are often left without information, legal recourse, or justice. Human rights organisations, both local and international, have condemned these actions, calling them violations of international law.

The Pakistan government has consistently denied involvement, but has failed to transparently investigate or resolve the cases. In recent years, peaceful resistance--through sit-ins, marches, and now social media--has grown, led by groups like the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). These families, driven by grief and hope, continue to demand the safe return of their loved ones and an end to the culture of impunity. (ANI)

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