Karachi police have dispersed protesters and arrested key members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) as the group held a protest against the recent arrests of its leadership and a crackdown on its Quetta sit-in.
The BYC had announced a protest at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) against the “illegal detention” of its key leaders, including Dr Mahrang Baloch who was arrested on Saturday along with 16 other activists from their protest camp in Quetta, a day after claiming that three protesters had died due to police action.
Subsequently, in a notification dated today, Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi imposed a ban on all types of gatherings across the city under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).As BYC supporters tried to reach the KPC, they were intercepted by the police at the Fawara Chowk, where they were met with resistance by the law enforcers.
After an hour-long protest, police began dispersing the demonstrators and took Sammi Deen Baloch and other BYC supporters into custody.BYC supporter Sadaf Ameer, who alleged her father Ameer Bakhsh had been forcibly disappeared, told Dawn.com: “Before the protest even began, a heavy police contingent came and subjected us to torture.
“They arrested and took away Sammi Deen Baloch and others,” Sadaf added, noting they had come to demand the release of Mahrang, Bebarg and others.“We came peacefully and we were protesting peacefully, but the state cannot accept us protesting peacefully. This is why the state has been violent with us and has taken Sammi Baloch and others.”
Front Line Defenders, an Irish organisation advocating and working for the protection of human rights, condemned the arrest and said it was deeply concerned about the development. “We call for her immediate release and an end to reprisals against Baloch human rights defenders,” it said in a post on X.
In a statement earlier today, the Karachi Traffic Police said: “Both roads from Din Muhammad Wafai Road to MR Kiani Chowrangi towards Fawara Chowk have been closed for traffic.
