Pakistan: Sit-in camp organised demanding release of Baloch leaders

Balochistan [Pakistan], June 20 (ANI): Leading Baloch Human rights body, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has organised a three-day sit-in protest against the illegal detention of leading Baloch human rights leaders, the BYC has said.

The BYC said on Thursday that it has organised the three-day sit-in camp in front of the Turbat Press Club to protest against the illegal detention of key members of its leadership such as Mahrang Baloch, Bebarg Baloch who are "illegally detained by Pakistani authorities".

It wrote on X, "In front of the Turbat Press Club, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), Kech Zone, has organized a three-day sit-in against the illegal detention of its central organizers--Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Bebarg Baloch, Sibghatullah Shajee, Gulzadi, Beebo, and others who are illegally detained by Pakistani authorities. "

https://x.com/BalochYakjehtiC/status/1935661696699506784

In another post, it noted, "High Court Balochistan senior advocate Majeed Dashti speaks at the first-day sit-in camp organized by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), Kech Zone: "This camp demands the immediate and safe release of all detained BYC leaders -- including Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Singhatullah Shahjee, Beebo, Gulzadi, and others, who are imprisoned simply for defending human rights. On June 22, it will be three months since Dr. Mahrang and others were detained. We demand their release, this injustice must not be prolonged."

https://x.com/BalochYakjehtiC/status/1935671784474657070

In Balochistan, civilians are abducted by state forces without due process. Human rights groups have long accused Pakistani authorities of using forced disappearances as a tool to suppress dissent and intimidate communities in restive regions.

Pakistani authorities have routinely denied involvement in enforced disappearances. However, rights organisations and Baloch civil society groups continue to accuse the country's security forces and intelligence services of carrying out systematic abductions, with a focus on students, political workers, and residents of conflict-affected areas, according to the TBP report. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)