Parts of Balochistan shut as police crack down on BYC

• Mahrang among over a dozen activists picked up in raid
• HRCP, political parties seek protesters’ release
• Minister offers talks to estranged leaders

QUETTA: As most parts of the province shut down to protest the crackdown by police to disperse the Baloch Yakjehti Committee protesters, over one dozen activists, including BYC chief organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch, were arrested on Saturday from the protest camp set up near the University of Balochistan.

Dr Baloch was arrested along with 16 other activists, including seven women, and moved to the Quetta district jail after their initial detention at the Bijli Road police station.

“As many as 17 BYC activists were arrested along with Dr (Mahrang) Baloch,” a police official said.

A heavy contingent of police encircled the sit-in camp at Munir Mengal Road and arrested Mahrang Baloch, who was leading the protest against the arrest of BYC activist Bebarg Baloch, his brother, Vice Principal of Bolan Medical College Dr Ilyas Baloch, and his family members. The participants were also protesting against the alleged burial of 13 bodies without identification.

After the arrest, the police also uprooted the sit-in camp and dispersed other activists present at the site with the bodies of three protesters who were killed a day before, allegedly during the police crackdown. The police handed over the bodies to the respective families.

By late Saturday night, the supporters of BYC were present in the Saroyan area and ‘clashes’ between the protesters and the BYC continued. Police were using tear gas to disperse the mob. Reports also suggested that the post office of Balochistan University and many shops on Sariab Road had been torched while a heavy contingent was present in the area to disperse the protesters.

Raid on camp

In its statement, the BYC said the police conducted a raid at the sit-in camp near the University of Balochistan and “brutally behaved with the workers and supporters and arrested them”. The BYC had alleged that three people, who were participating in the sit-in, were killed in police firing and many others sustained injuries.

BMC hospital authorities confirmed two deaths and said two bodies were brought to the hospital which were later taken away by the people who accompanied the bodies. Meanwhile, the civil hospital received one body and 10 injured police personnel, including a female police constable.

Quetta Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat denied the claim that the police had killed three people by firing at the protesters during the sit-in a day earlier. In a statement issued on Saturday, he said that on March 21, the BYC initiated a protest demanding the recovery of the bodies of individuals killed during the Jaffar Express operation.

However, the protest quickly turned violent as BYC protesters and their armed accomplices allegedly resorted to stone-pelting, indiscriminate firing, and attacks on law enforcement personnel. During the unrest, three individuals lost their lives due to alleged firing by “armed elements accompanying BYC leadership”.

“Civil authorities and police emphasised that the deceased individuals’ bodies needed examination to ascertain the actual circumstances of their deaths. Despite knowing that all three — one of whom was an Afghan national — were killed by their own associates, the BYC leadership refused to hand over the bodies.

At the request of the deceased’s families, police successfully recovered the bodies from the unlawful custody of BYC supporters and ensured their respectful handover to the respective families,“ the statement alleged.

According to the statement, the authorities have initiated legal proceedings, and the protesters have been booked under relevant laws for “attacking the Civil Hospital, instigating violent protests, and other serious offenses”.

Meanwhile, the police released Dr Ilyas Baloch, vice principal of the Bolan Medical College, his son and son-in-law on Friday night who were arrested three days back. “The name of Dr Ilyas Baloch was in the list of Forth Schedule.”

A partial shutdown and wheel jam strike were observed in the provincial capital on Saturday on the call of Dr Mahrang Baloch. However, the main businesses in the city as well as bazaars remained open.

The Sariab Road, Brewery Road area and some other areas on the outskirts of the city remained closed owing to the strike. Due to the protest, traffic remained thin in Quetta and the majority of the vehicles remained off roads.

A shutter-down strike was also reported in Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Noshki, Hub, Bela, Surab, Gwadar, Turbat, Panjgur, Dera Murad Jamali and some other areas while traffic was suspended between Quetta and Karachi, as well as Quetta and Taftan due to the blocking of highways.

Violence denounced

The central spokesperson of the National Party, in a statement, strongly condemned the arrest of BYC leaders and protesters.

“The government and administration repeated the actions of the previous day by using force against protesters in the morning, arresting both men and women, including leaders and youth, and taking the martyrs [bodies] into custody, which was the height of fascism,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in a statement, urged the state to avoid taking excessive steps to curb dissent.

“The arrest of BYC leaders and the reported suspension of connectivity in Quetta are knee-jerk reactions that will exacerbate the frustrations of ordinary people,” the statement said, adding that the Balochistan government “must immediately release Mahrang Baloch and other BYC leaders and workers and initiate an urgent dialogue”.

The PTI also denounced the use of force against BYC protesters and demanded Dr Mahrang’s release.

The PTI spokesperson stated that the Balochistan “chief minister and his leader, Bilawal, would be held accountable for the barbarity and inhuman acts”.

Talks offered

Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik, while talking to reporters in Taxila, said the government was ready to talk with the estranged Baloch leaders, including the BYC. He, however, cautioned that the state would take action to curb separatism. He said issues could not be resolved through “violent protests” and if the Baloch leaders were serious, then the government was ready for dialogue.

Ikram Junaidi in Islamabad and Amjad Iqbal in Taxila also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025