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Pakistani forces attacked Baloch protesters in Quetta, abducting activist Mahrang Baloch and seizing bodies of slain civilians. The Pakistani Army has also enforced an internet shutdown. Activists raise concerns over human rights violations at the UNHRC.
Pakistan’s security forces have launched a violent crackdown on Baloch protesters in Quetta, attacking demonstrators and allegedly abducting prominent activist Mahrang Baloch.
Nobel Prize nominee and prominent Baloch leader and her fellow members have been forcibly detained 2day by Pakistani security forces during a sit-in protest in Quetta, . pic.twitter.com/BO8GczWCvO
— Hatim Baloch (@hatim_baloc)Reports indicate that several bodies of innocent Baloch civilians, including children killed the previous day, were taken away by authorities.
Also read: Balochistan sees surge in enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings: Human rights report
Mahrang Baloch, a leading voice in the Baloch rights movement, took to X before her abduction, condemning the police brutality. “In Quetta, police opened indiscriminate fire on peaceful protesters, leaving many injured and one protester dead. This is how the state responds to peaceful demonstrations in Balochistan,” she posted.
: Pakistani forces have attacked Baloch protest site in Quetta and taken away the dead bodies of innocent Baloch civilians including children who were killed yesterday. Baloch Activist has been abducted by the forces on orders of the Pakistan Army. pic.twitter.com/iev9u5xn4U
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul)In addition to the violent repression, the Pakistani Army has reportedly ordered an internet shutdown in Quetta to curb information flow and prevent further mobilization of protesters. This move has drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups and activists worldwide.
The crisis in Balochistan was also raised at the 58th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. Niaz Baloch, Coordinator of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) Foreign Department, highlighted the worsening human rights conditions in the region. He accused the Pakistani government of using enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and targeted repression against Baloch political activists.
“Enforced disappearances have become a systematic tool of oppression in Balochistan,” Niaz Baloch stated. He pointed to the cases of Beeberg Zehri, a Baloch Yakjehti Committee member, and his brother Hammal Zehri, who were recently disappeared. Additionally, psychiatrist Ilyas Baloch, Vice Principal of Bolan Medical College, and over a dozen members of the Qambarani family were also reported missing. Human rights activist Saeeda Baloch and her sister were allegedly arrested.
The crackdown has also been linked to extrajudicial killings by state-backed death squads. One such case is the recent killing of Shah Jahan Baloch, brother of Baloch Students Organisation-Azad’s missing chairman Zahid Baloch. Activists claim such incidents are part of a systematic state policy to instill fear and suppress dissent in Balochistan.
The BNM and other nationalist groups have long accused the Pakistani government of suppressing Baloch voices through disappearances, intimidation, and violence. The latest crackdown in Quetta is seen as another chapter in what activists describe as a state-led campaign to crush the Baloch independence movement.
International human rights organizations are being urged to intervene as the situation in Balochistan continues to deteriorate, with activists warning that further repression could escalate tensions in the region.
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- With ANI inputs.
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