Police at the Secretariat Police Station in Islamabad have reportedly taken more than a dozen Baloch students into custody.
According to reports, students are being targeted on ethnic grounds and subjected to intense interrogation over alleged links with the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
Prominent human rights lawyer and activist Imaan Zainab Mazari is also present inside the police station. Reports circulating on social media describe the atmosphere outside as resembling a “state of curfew,” with citizens and journalists being denied entry and allegedly mistreated by police officers.
The detentions come amid an ongoing sit-in by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), now in its third week, calling for the release of detained activists and an end to enforced disappearances in Balochistan. Political leaders, journalists, and Baloch students have joined the sit-in in recent days in solidarity.
According to protesters, Baloch students and demonstrators have faced increasing harassment and intimidation throughout the sit-in. On Sunday, police reportedly demanded to see their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) and warned that those who did not comply would not be allowed to remain at the protest.
A video recorded by protesters allegedly shows police officers demanding CNICs and warning that those who failed to comply would not be allowed to continue the demonstration. In the video, protesters are heard questioning why identification was being demanded after 12 days of demonstrating, to which an officer responds, “This rule was implemented today.”
Meanwhile, in a post on X, the BYC condemned the police’s demand for ID cards, accusing them of “further escalating the harassment” and attempting to “suppress and intimidate” the protesters.
“These threatening tactics are taking place with the full backing and coordination of [the] Islamabad Police. Inside the protest space itself, LEA officials are regularly entering and capturing videos of students’ faces to instil fear,” the post further alleged.