UN Experts Urge Pakistan to Release Detained Baloch Activists, End Crackdown on Protests » Capital News
March 27 – A group of independent United Nations human rights experts has called for the immediate release of detained Baloch activists and an end to Pakistan’s crackdown on peaceful protesters. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the UN Human Rights Special Procedures expressed deep concern over alleged enforced disappearances and violent repression of demonstrations.
“We have been monitoring with growing concern reports of alleged arrests and enforced disappearances of Baloch activists over the past months, and the violent incidents in recent days have significantly heightened our concerns,” the experts said in a press release.
The crackdown against the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) escalated following a March 11 terrorist attack by Baloch separatists on a passenger train. In response, Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department allegedly arrested or forcibly disappeared several prominent BYC human rights defenders.
On March 21, Quetta police stormed a peaceful BYC protest outside the University of Balochistan, where demonstrators were demanding the release of detained activists. Security forces reportedly opened fire, killing three people, injuring others, and arresting dozens.
“Once again, we see excessive force used as a first response to peaceful protests,” the experts said. “We acknowledge the deep trauma caused by the March 11 attack and express our sympathies to the victims. However, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and violent crackdowns on freedom of assembly do not address that trauma.”
Following the March 21 crackdown, BYC, led by Mahrang Baloch, a prominent human rights defender, organised a sit-in at Saryab Road in Quetta, displaying the bodies of those killed in the police operation.
In the early hours of March 22, police raided the demonstration, using batons and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Several activists, including Mahrang Baloch, were arrested. Her whereabouts reportedly remained unknown for nearly 12 hours, and she was allegedly denied access to legal counsel or family visits. Authorities have since charged her and other BYC members under Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act.
On March 24, Sammi Deen Baloch, another prominent BYC member and women’s rights defender, was arrested alongside others while protesting outside the Karachi Press Club. Authorities have reportedly ordered her detention for 30 days under the Sindh Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance.
“We are extremely concerned for the welfare of Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, and other detained human rights defenders,” the experts said. “We urge Pakistani authorities to immediately release them and stop misusing counterterrorism laws against peaceful activists.”
They also called on Pakistan to clarify the fate and whereabouts of all those allegedly subjected to enforced disappearances and to address conditions conducive to terrorism in line with the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
The statement was issued by Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Gabriella Citroni (Chairperson), Grazyna Baranowska (Vice-Chairperson), Aua Balde, Ana Lorena Delgadillo Perez, and Mohammed Al-Obaidi, UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
It was endorsed by Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights; Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association; Laura Nyirinkindi (Chair), Claudia Flores (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Ivana Krstic, and Haina Lu, UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls; and Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues.
The UN experts confirmed they are in contact with Pakistani authorities regarding these concerns.