In an ongoing repression, eight individuals were arrested in Malir Sharafi Goth following a peaceful rally to raise awareness for Baloch Genocide Memorial Day. This marks another escalation in the Pakistan Army’s relentless efforts to suppress dissent, particularly voices calling attention to the Baloch genocide and the atrocities committed by the Paki establishment.
The arrested individuals, including two minors, Mujib son of Aslam and Imran son of Mola Bakhsh, were among the local protesters detained by police three hours after the rally. The ages of the detainees, both under 18, highlight the extent to which the Pakistan Army and its police forces target even the youngest members of the Baloch community for simply exercising their right to protest. Sammi Deen Baloch, leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, condemned the arrests, stating that these actions were part of a systematic campaign to silence the Baloch struggle for justice and self-determination.
In an alarming development, an FIR was filed against Sammi Deen, Amina Baloch, Fouzia Baloch, and 16 others, including the detained protesters, under false and baseless charges. The registration of the FIR points to a troubling pattern where Pak authorities weaponize the legal system to target activists and silence any movement that dares to criticize the establishment’s actions in Pak-occupied-Balochistan.
The arrested individuals are just the latest victims of the Pakistan Army’s iron-fisted tactics, which have long sought to crush any form of Baloch resistance. Sami Deen further pointed out that those arrested in Lyari during a January 18 protest, including prominent Baloch Yakjehti Committee organizer Lala Wahab Baloch, elderly citizens, and youth, remain in police custody.
These actions are part of a wider pattern of suppression by the Pak military in POB, where enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the brutalization of dissenting voices have been ongoing since the forceful occupation of the region in 1948. The arrest of peaceful protesters in Malir is a direct reflection of the military’s ongoing disregard for the basic human rights of the Baloch people, who have been subjected to violence and oppression for decades.