Baloch Protesters Announce Nationwide Shutterdown

On Tuesday, Baloch protesters issued a call for a nationwide shutterdown demonstration scheduled for tomorrow (January 3), asserting that government officials were attempting to portray the Baloch long march and sit-in in Islamabad as “propaganda.”

In a social media post, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, organizers of the protest seeking an end to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan, expressed dissatisfaction with the state’s inconsistent and half-hearted response to their demands.

They declared a shutterdown demonstration across Pakistan on January 3, urging people from all walks of life to support the strike in the name of humanity and the preservation of Baloch identity.

On January 3rd, our ultimatum will expire. The State has consistently shown a half-hearted and uncommitted concern regarding our demands from the beginning. Furthermore, despite the seriousness of the Baloch Genocide issue, State officials are attempting to justify it by labeling… pic.twitter.com/oGrbgaoNNH

— Baloch Yakjahti Committee – Kech (@BYCKech) January 1, 2024

The protesters, stationed outside the National Press Club for over a week, had given the government a seven-day ultimatum on December 28 to meet their demands.

Also Read: 34 Baloch Protesters Released After Successful Negotiations

These demands include the release of detained protesters, a thorough investigation into rights violations in Balochistan, the eradication of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, release of all victims of enforced disappearances, restrictions on the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), and elimination of “state-sponsored death squads.”

Dr. Mahrang Baloch, one of the protest organizers, explained in a video message that the protest march commenced following the alleged killing of a Baloch youth in custody by the CTD.

She emphasized that the movement opposes the decade-long pattern of enforced disappearances and murders of innocent citizens in Balochistan, asserting widespread support for the protest among the province’s residents.

Dr. Mahrang criticized the use of force by Islamabad police to disrupt the long march and the filing of “fake” FIRs against protesters nationwide. She highlighted the repeated refusal of the administration to address the policy of Baloch genocide, claimed over 20 Baloch youths were forcibly disappeared again, and demanded a fair trial for all Baloch individuals in illegal custody.

From the inception of our movement, our demands have been clear: an end to all forms of human rights violations in Balochistan and the cessation of the Baloch genocide. We've presented these demands to the state through the media.

Our stance has remained clear from the beginning… pic.twitter.com/Bv1LD5nPky

— Mahrang Baloch (@MahrangBaloch_) January 1, 2024

The announcement of the nationwide shutterdown demonstration comes in response to caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar’s criticism of the protest supporters, suggesting they join Baloch militants if they support their cause. Dr. Mahrang, in response, reiterated the protesters’ clear demands for an end to human rights violations and the Baloch genocide and pledged to persist in informing the world about the government’s actions.