Family members are not allowed to gather and deliver food to Dr. Mahrang Baloch while he is in custody in the Quetta district prison, the sister of the Balochjehti Balochjehti Committee (Byc) alleged Sunday.
The main organizer of the byc and another 16 activists were arrested from their protest camp on the Quetta Sariab road, while a police offensive against their seated against alleged forced disappearances continues.
Astma Baloch told him Dawn.com That more than 24 hours have passed, but Mahrang has not been produced in the Court or is allowed access to legal advisor.
“The Quetta district prison authorities did not allow us to meet my sister and we were not allowed to deliver food and other essential articles,” Asthma claimed, added that these articles were returned by the prison authorities.
“We wait for this morning out of jail for more than 2 hours and we continue to request with it, but we were denied access and we were not allowed to deliver clothes and food.”
The ByC has issued protest calls on the social media platform X in Karachi and Quetta for March 24 (tomorrow), with the protest at the Karachi Press Club organized in collaboration with members of civil society.
The protesters will protest the “illegal arrest” of Mahrang and Batog Baloch in the two cities, qualifying the arrests “a direct attack on fundamental human rights, justice and freedom of expression.”
According to Publications X, the protest at the Karachi Press Club is scheduled for 4 PM, while the protest in Quetta is scheduled for noon.
Meanwhile, the situation in Quetta returned to normal on Sunday, one day after a partial closure, while a closing strike continued for a second day in some cities of Baluchistan in response to a call from the Baloch Jakjehti (Byc) committee, which demanded the release of its leadership.
Mahrang had been leading the protest against the arrests of the BYC Bray Baloch activist, his brother, and the deputy director of Bolan Medical College, Dr. Ilyas Baloch and the members of her family. Dr. Ilyas and his relatives have been released. Participants also protested against the supposed burial of 13 bodies without identification.
The strike call was broadcast after the Byc said Friday that three of his protesters were killed by white shooting by the police. However, Quetta commissioner Hamza Shafqaat had denied the claim, saying that the deaths were alleged shots by “armed elements that accompany BYC leadership.”
According to a Dawn.com Correspondent, the situation in Quetta returned to normal today after the provincial capital yesterday observed a partial closure and a Wheel-Jam strike.
TO Dawn.com The correspondent confirmed that mobile internet services had resumed in Quetta after being suspended for four days. The suspension caused difficulties for users, in the city, particularly to merchants and students.
The correspondent added that the provincial administration did not give any reason for the suspension.
While the main businesses and markets remained open on Saturday, Sariab Road, Brewery Road and some other areas on the outskirts of the city had remained closed.
The stores in Gwadar and Surab, where a strike was reported yesterday, also reopened today, Dawn.com The correspondents said.
On his side, the byc issued a call for another protest on the Qambrani road in Quetta at 4pm today.
He said that the protest was against the actions of the State in Baluchistan, as well as the arrest of Mahrang and other leaders, and urged the people of the province to leave their homes to support the movement.
In a statement about Mahrang’s X account, his sister urged the public to raise his voice for the “safe liberation of Mahrang Baloch, Bato Baloch, Bagagar Baloch and his friends.”
“While she (Mahrang) remains illegally detained by the state of Pakistan, I will administer this account and provide updates on her situation,” said the publication supposedly made by her sister.
Amnesty International requested Mahrang’s launch in a publication on X, stating that it had been illegally arrested for more than 38 hours.
“More than 38 hours since the illegal detention of Mahrang Baloch, access to his lawyers and family is still denied,” Amnesty wrote. “There are also worrying reports of continuous arrests and arbitrary arrests throughout the province of Baluchistan.
“The Pakistani authorities must immediately release Mahrang Baloch and all other detainees for exercising their right to protest Pacific, and refrain from involving Baloch activists in frivolous cases to illegally prolong their detention,” said the NGO.
According to the Superintendent of Hub Police (DSP) Imam Bakhsh Baloch, six people, including Imran Baloch, former president of the Baloch Student Organization (BSO), have been arrested.
The DSP told him Dawn.com That Imran Baloch was arrested in relation to two previously registered cases, while the investigations are underway in the other suspected stops.
“Imran was fleeing in both cases,” said the DSP.
Some Baluchistan cities remain closed
However, the closing attacks continued in the districts of Kech’s Turbat, as well as in the districts of Panjgur, Noshki, Kalat and Chagai, Dawn.com Informed correspondents.
The protests of the BYC supporters were also carried out in Kech and Bhawani near the hub on the Karachi-Quetta road, where the traffic had been suspended yesterday due to the road blockages.
The Byc shared alleged images of closed stores in Kech, Noshki, Kharan and Kalat. The videos shared by the Committee also showed dozens, mostly women, in a sitting in Kech and a manifestation supposedly held in Chagai.
In another publication, the byc said that a protester was arrested today in Hub, since “police and security personnel launched an offensive in the protest field, where families of missing persons and BYC activists met peacefully.”
“They disassembled the tent, fired tear gas and opened fire, sabotaging the protest,” he added.
On Saturday, strikes had been reported in Mastung, Khuzdar, Hub, Bela, Surab, Gwadar, Dera Murad Jamali and some other areas as well.
Meanwhile, the roads in Khuzdar, Surab, Kalat and Mastung opened last night after conversations were held with local administrations. Traffic had been suspended yesterday between Quetta and Karachi, as well as Quetta and Taftan due to road block.
For Saturday night, BYC supporters were present in the Saroyan area and the ‘clashes’ between protesters and the Byc continued. The police were using tear gas to disperse the mafia.
The reports also suggested that the Post Office of the University of Baluchistan and many stores in Sariab Road had been burned, while a heavy contingent was present in the area to disperse the protesters.
In a statement yesterday, Shafqaat had denied the statement that the police had killed three people when shooting against the protesters during the sitting by Quetta. The commissioner said that Byc initiated a protest on March 21 demanding the recovery of the bodies of individuals killed during the operation of Jaffar Express.
However, the protest quickly became violent as BYC’s protesters and her armed accomplices allegedly resorted to indiscriminate shots and attacks against police staff. During the riots, three people lost their lives due to the alleged layoffs for “armed elements that accompany BYC leadership.”
“The civil authorities and the police emphasized that the bodies of the deceased people needed an exam to determine the real circumstances of their deaths. Despite knowing that the three, one of whom was an Afghan citizen, were killed by their own associates, the leadership of Byc refused to deliver the bodies.
Meanwhile, a first information report (FIR) was presented to the Line Civil Police Station in Quetta on March 19 against Mahrang and another 12 suspects named about the attack against the Civil Hospital.
According to the FIR, seen by Dawn.comBaloch has been accused under sections 124a (sedition), 147 (punishment for disturbances), 149 (each member of the illegal assembly guilty of the crime committed in the prosecution of common objects), 153a (promote enmity between different groups), 186 (obstructing the public servant in the performance of public functions), 337AD (fighting and vandalism) injustice (discharge discharge releases), 337AD (fighting and vandalism), 342 (unfair punishment (librant (discharge of discharge from public functions), 337AD (fighting and vandalism), 342 (injustices (punishment). 353 (assault or criminal force to dissuade the public server of the registration of their duty) o Criminal force in an attempt to commit theft of goods transported by a person) and 505 (statements that lead to public mischief) of the Pakistan Criminal Code.
These sections were read with Section 11V (directing terrorist activities) of the Anti -Terrorism Law, 1997.
According to the FIR, up to 150 people broke into the morgue at the Civil Hospital and took the bodies of the terrorists killed during the kidnapping of Jaffar Express trains.
HDT Hidayatur Rehman ‘Chief Ready to mediate’
Separately, Haq Do Tehreek chief Maulana Hidayatur Rehman said he was ready to mediate between the Government and the Byc to reduce tensions.
Rehman, also a MPA of Baluchistan by Jamaat-I-Islami, said in a statement issued by HDT that “Baluchistan people cannot afford more bodies.”
Expressing concern for recent incidents in Quetta related to the byc, Rehman said that “peace cannot be established with violence and coercion.”
Rehman said he was ready to mediate, with the agreement of the parties, so that the “release of prisoners and public relief was possible.” He stressed that any additional conflict would not be of public interest since people were the most affected by the current situation.
