Police in Karachi have detained at least four protesters, including a prominent Baloch woman activist, during a peaceful demonstration organized by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) in Lyari on Thursday.
The protest was held in response to the alleged extrajudicial killing of Baloch youth activist Zeeshan Zaheer in Balochistan’s Panjgur.
Zeeshan, a member of the BYC’s Panjgur Organizing Committee, was abducted on 29 June from the Football Chowk area by members of an alleged state-backed militia. His body was found the following morning near Ghareeb Nawaz Hotel. He had been shot multiple times.
Zeeshan’s father, Zaheer Ahmed Baloch, was forcibly disappeared on 13 April 2015, when Zeeshan was just eleven years old. He spent much of his youth protesting on the streets and demanding his father’s return.
According to the BYC, the rally was scheduled to begin from Lyari’s 8 Chowk when police intervened. Officers reportedly launched an assault on the demonstrators and forcibly disrupted the event before it could start.
Sources said Amna Baloch was detained alongside three male protesters identified as Suhail, Irfan, and an unnamed fourth individual. The detainees were transferred to Risala Police Station.
“This is not the first time that our peaceful protests have faced state repression in Karachi,” the BYC said in a statement. “Sindh police have repeatedly targeted our democratic right to protest.”
The group condemned the arrests and called for the immediate release of all detained activists. “The state must be held accountable for its crimes. Silencing dissent will not bury the truth,” it added.