Amnesty International has strongly condemned the arrest and detention of at least 20 participants of the long march against “Baloch Genocide” on December 17 in Dera Ghazi Khan. This statement from the human rights organization was shared on the social media platform ‘X’.
According to Amnesty, the protestors, many of whom are women and families of forcibly disappeared individuals, peacefully conducted a sit-in before starting a long march from Balochistan to Islamabad.
Amnesty highlighted that the march was in response to the extrajudicial killing of Balach Mola Bakhsh and three others by the Pakistan’s Counter-terrorism Department (CTD) in Turbat, Balochistan, on November 23, 2023. Balach, a 24-year-old Baloch man, was in CTD custody on remand when he was extrajudicially executed, having been taken into law enforcement custody on October 29.
While the protestors have been released, Amnesty International pointed out that three separate legal cases have been filed against the organizers and participants.
In its statement, Amnesty International called on Pakistani authorities to immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against those arrested solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
The organization also demanded an impartial investigation into all instances of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, particularly in Balochistan, in accordance with international standards. Additionally, Amnesty International called for the compensation of families of victims of extrajudicial killings and those who have been forcibly disappeared.