International human rights organization Amnesty International on Thursday urged the Government of Pakistan to halt what it described as “systematic attacks” and a “relentless crackdown” on Baloch activists protesting alleged enforced disappearances and other human rights issues in Balochistan.
In a statement, Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, called for the immediate release of all detained Baloch activists arrested “simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”
“Pakistani authorities must immediately release all Baloch activists… Amnesty reiterates its call for a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the use of unlawful force during the March 21 peaceful protests,”
Pant said, urging that those responsible be held to account and the violations effectively remedied.
Pant highlighted concerns over Dr Mahrang and Bebarg Zehri, noting Bebarg’s disabilities, saying both have been denied adequate medical care, despite their health “severely deteriorating” in custody.
He also criticized the “weaponization of the legal system,” referencing multiple first information reports (FIRs) and preventative detentions under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, imposed even after activists were granted bail.
“It shows wanton disregard by the law enforcement agencies for the rights of Baloch people under Pakistan’s Constitution and the country’s obligations under international human rights law,”
the statement added.
The Amnesty statement follows a similar call from a group of independent UN human rights experts, who on Wednesday demanded that the Pakistani government release Baloch rights defenders and end any crackdown on peaceful protests.
“We have been monitoring with growing concern reports of alleged arrests and enforced disappearances of Baloch activists… The violent incidents in the past few days have significantly increased our concerns,”
the experts said in a joint statement.
They expressed particular alarm over the detentions of Dr Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Deen Baloch.
“We urge the Pakistani authorities to immediately release them and to refrain from abusing counter-terrorism or public safety measures against human rights defenders,”
the experts said, calling for clarification on the fate and whereabouts of all those reportedly subjected to enforced disappearances.