Pak continues to arrest Baloch leaders as police cracks down on protestors

Leading Baloch human rights body, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) central leader Sammi Deen and deputy organizer Lala Wahab were arrested on Monday as police cracked down on the protest in Karachi.

After their arrests, BYC issued a strongly worded statement where it said that it will not be silenced by Pakistan's crackdown on BYC;s leadership.

BYC condemned the "barbaric arrest of BYC leadership" and called "act of state terrorism by the fascist Pakistani regime against the Baloch people". 

"This cowardly and repressive move exposes Pakistan's authoritarian brutality, where the state apparatus operates with impunity to crush all voices demanding justice and human rights. The Pakistani state's fascist machinery, in collaboration with the Sindh police and the Pakistan Peoples Party-led provincial government, has once again demonstrated its vicious intent to eliminate all forms of peaceful resistance", the post said.

It added that the abduction-style arrests of the human rights defenders are a part of Pakistan's "long-standing genocidal policy against the Baloch people" which is marked by enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and mass repression.

It further highlighted that the use of colonial-era laws such as Section 144 to criminalize dissent is a desperate attempt to whitewash state barbarism.

"The Pakistani state, built on the foundation of militarized oppression, continues to treat Baloch activists and our leadership such as Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, Lala Wahab Baloch, Bebagar Baloch and others. This shameless tyranny not only tramples democratic freedoms but also exposes the Pakistani state's hypocritical and deceitful posture before the international community", the post added.

BYC in its concluding remarks gave a call to international human rights organizations to hold the Pakistani state accountable for its atrocities and crimes against humanity.

"The world must not ignore Pakistan's fascist oppression, which continues to violate every principle of justice, freedom, and human dignity. The time for silence is over. The Pakistani state must face global condemnation and consequences for its state-sponsored terrorism. The voices of the oppressed will not be erased--Balochistan will resist", it said in its conclusion.

International figures have condemned the arrest and the treatment of Baloch activists. Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, criticised the crackdown on protesters in Quetta.

The arrests have sparked wider concerns regarding the Pakistani authorities' handling of dissent in Balochistan.