Quetta police have detained a woman and her young daughter who had been holding a sit-in protest demanding justice for her son, reportedly killed in a firing incident involving Pakistani security forces earlier this year.
The woman, Arifa Shah, is the mother of Ehsan Shah, who was killed in June in Mastung’s Ganja Dori area. For the past two weeks, she had been staging a sit-in outside the Quetta Press Club, calling for accountability.
On Thursday, Shah and her minor daughter were taken into custody from the protest site. Her relatives initially feared she had been subjected to enforced disappearance, but Shah has since confirmed in a video statement that she was detained by police.
In her statement, Shah alleged that during detention she faced intimidation, threats, and pressure to call off her protest and avoid speaking to the media. She further claimed that a senior Quetta police official had repeatedly warned her of arrest and disappearance if she continued her demonstrations.
The Baloch Yekjehti Committee condemned the incident, describing it as an attempt to suppress peaceful protest. The group urged local and international human rights organisations, journalists, lawyers, and civil society to take notice and call for justice in Shah’s case.
Police officials have not yet issued a public response to the allegations.