The Dannuk incident in Turbat has created a massive outcry and resulted in various protests throughout Balochistan. Thousands of people have taken to roads to express solidarity with the victims and to demand an instant trial and eventual punishment for the culprits. Prominent politicians, nationalists and human rights activists have strongly condemned this incident. Others have launched campaigns on social media platforms under the hashtag #JusticeForBramash to bring the incident in the global spotlight.
According to the details received by The Balochistan Post, mass protests continue to erupt in various cities of Balochistan against the Dannuk incident. Thousands of protestors have flooded the streets in various cities and demanded justice for the young Bramash and her mother. The protestors questioned the belated – or non-existent – response on government’s behalf and appeal to the authorities to promptly bring the miscreants to justice. Nationalist and pro-independence leaders have accused Pakistani state and its sponsored death squads of the incident and have instructed collective resilience in this hard time.
On 26 May, a band of burglars – allegedly headed by a Death Squad leader, Sameer Sabzal – breached into Jasim s/o Ameer’s house at midnight. When the burglars attempted to ransack the house, the materfamilias, Malik Naz, put up a resistance against them. The burglars shot her dead at the spot and abjectly wounded her four-year-old daughter, Bramash. One of culprits was reportedly cornered by the other family members and handed over to the police, whereas the second one fled the spot in a vehicle. After some initial inquiry, the police arrested two other members of the band. The police also forfeited the gun and bike used in the burglary. The suspected mastermind of the incident, Sameer Sabzal, has not been arrested yet.
Following the Balochistan-wide uproar against him, Sameer Sabzal issued a statement on Facebook where he denied his involvement in the crime. He said that his name has been falsely attached with the incident. However, his pictures have widely been circulated with the criminals arrested during the Dannuk incident.
Massive protests erupted against the incident in various cities of Balochistan. Civilians in Turbat, Gwadar, Buleda, Noshki and Dalbandain, Kharan, Besema and Washuk flooded the roads to sympathize with the victims. The civil society also announced to extend the protests to Quetta and Karachi. The protestors brandished banners and placards that bore messages like “ Justice for Bramash” and “The culprits of the Dunnak incident be arrested and punished immediately”. Furthermore, the protestors unanimously condemned the incident and appealed to the authorities to arrest the miscreants and subject them to the condign punishment.
The representative for the Baloch Women’s Forum (BWF) has said that the Dannuk incident is not a novel experience for Balochistan because such incidents have become the new normal. She said that the state actors and their abetting death squads are involved in burglaries, drug dealings and ransom kidnapping throughout Balochistan. The representative added that the victims of Dannuk incident await justice, whereas Sameer Sabzal and his accomplices roam freely under the state patronage. She paid tribute to Malik Naz and appreciated her neighbours as their collective struggle had unveiled the “state-sponsored death squads” and forced the government to arrest the thieves.
Baloch nationalist pro-independence leader, Mir Abdul Nabi Bangulzai, condemned the Dannuk incident in a recent statement and paid tribute to the Baloch “sons” who are “resisting the Pakistani tyranny and brutalities”. He said that the Dannuk incident is another link in the unending chain of unfortunate incidents – the demolition of Nawab Marri’s grave, vandalization of the Baloch houses in Quetta and the countless other incidents throughout Balochistan. He said that a thorough examination of these incidents leads to a common cause: slavery. Meer Bangulzai added that these are not individual but collective problems. “Now, we have to collectively struggle against and resist these atrocities and intolerance”.
Other prominent figures in the Baloch struggle also condemned the Dannuk incident. Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, the leader of Balochistan Liberation Front, said that such incidents of theft, murder and other crimes are encouraged by the intelligence agencies that fund and provide sanctuary to the complicit groups. Khalil Baloch, the chairman of Baloch National Movement, opined that the severe media censorships in Balochistan not just obscure such incidents, but also intensify them. Munir Jalib Baloch, the general secretary of Baloch Student Organization, admonished the incident as an “inhumane act” by the “terrorists of the Death Squad”.
Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, president of the National Party and the former Chief Minister of Balochistan, said that the Dannuk incident is a national tragedy for Balochistan. In a joint statement, president of Women’s Democratic Front, Jalila Haider and its general secretary, Farkhanda Aslam, condemned the incident and demanded that such crimes against women at the hands of intelligence agencies, money-feeding groups and death squads be halted.