On the 27th day of the Baloch Long March, which began in Turbat and reached Islamabad, Pakistan police launched a brutal crackdown. Peaceful protestors and activists were beaten, water-gassed, and subjected to baton attacks in an attempt to disrupt the march. Numerous arrests were made by the authorities, leaving many demonstrators injured and requiring urgent medical attention. Meanwhile, Baloch march leader Mahrang Baloch has made an appeal for the mass support.

Children and women too were thrashed and handled inappropriately, citing the gravity of the situation, brave leader of the march, Mahrang Baloch, said” its been over 24hours and they are kept illegally in the police station. And now, that they are got bail and free to go, they are not allowed to leave as per their wish.” After bail, these women are free to go on their own, but Pak Army has deployed their fascist forces outside. They are planning to captured them in the buses and send them back to Quetta.

Mahrang appeals to the masses, to join the march and movement and stand up against the brutal Pak Army and the ongoing Baloch genocide. Accordingly, she said that the men abducted by the forces have been disappeared as well. They are in Islamabad protesting and taking for answers, seeking justice. But none of the organisation and people in power have attempted to reach out to them. The march began in response to the extrajudicial killing of Balach Mola Bakhsh by the Pak Army, sparking concerns about enforced disappearances and human rights abuses in Pak-occupied-Balochistan.

The protests and sit-ins arose from both a demand for justice for Baloch victims and a call for action against the perpetrators within the CTD, which has become a tool for the Army’s raids, abductions, and indiscriminate extrajudicial killings. Frustrated by the lack of progress, the Baloch Yakjahti Committee initiated the long march.

The long march against Baloch genocide has shaken the Pakistan Army to its core. The protest that started from Turbat after the extra-judicial killings of four innocent Baloch youth soon culminated into a mass movement which attracted the participants from across the communities. Be it Sindhis or the Pashtuns, every community extended unconditional support to the movement and long march organized at the behest of Baloch Yakjehti (Solidarity) Committee (BYC). After brutal torture of marchers in Islamabad, Baloch have organised a Quetta protest that got support from PTM.

This utmost solidarity and the acceptance that the long march received at every step was not only a testament of the allegiance of the people but also of fearlessness that the Baloch have conquered after decades of persecution. This has created uneasiness in the Pakistan Army as evident by their naïve actions in Islamabad. Actually, as soon as long march reached Islamabad, the police took violent measures to curb the peaceful and righteous long march. Even women and children were not spared. Such inhumane and lawless action by the institution which calls itself a part of ‘state’ is sufficient to prove that the Pakistani establishment with Punjabi Army at the helm does not consider Baloch and other communities as part of Pakistan.

Quetta protest and PTM support

However, the enthusiasm of the Baloch people remains commendable as they not only continued their efforts but also carried out a protest rally and sit-in demonstration in Quetta. In one such protest rally, hundreds of Baloch, including women, elderly and specially abled voiced their support for the long march and condemned the Pakistani atrocities and violence over marchers. They accused Pakistan Army of being the cause of violence. The protestors hurled slogans “Ye jo dehshatgardi hai, iske peeche wardi hai.”  [This uniform (Pakistan Army) is behind the terrorism].

Furthermore, Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) again participated in the Quetta sit-in protest outside the High court and expressed unconditional support to the cause of BYC. The Provincial President of PTM, Noor Bacha in his address to the sit-in, warned Pakistan against continuing the oppression of Baloch and Pashtuns. He asked the establishment to consider their decisions and apologise from the Baloch and Pashtuns for the persecution. Noor Bacha reiterated that against the Punjabi Army’s oppression, PTM will always stand by the side of its Baloch brothers and sisters.

He invited all the oppressed communities, viz., Sindhis, Baloch, Pashtuns among others to be at a single platform and pose a unified resistance to the corrupt generals to snatch their rights. He stated that the idea of Manzoor Pashteen is not limited to Pashtuns only but has now transcended to the minds of Baloch and Sindhis.