The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) organized a massive demonstration on Monday in Quetta against the molestation of ten-year-old Murad Baloch by FC personnel in Kech. Hundreds of participants, including political and social workers, rights activists and students, took to the roads, chanting slogans, carrying banners and demanding justice for Murad Baloch.
Monday’s demonstration was organized by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, a social group advocating for various social reforms in Balochistan. The participants were primarily students, but rights activists, social workers and the general public were also in attendance. The participants carried placards and banners that bore messages like: “Stop institutionalized torture and sexual assault of Baloch children”, “Silence is a crime”, and “The life, liberty, dignity and culture is not safe in Balochistan anymore.”
Addressing the gathering, the speakers said that the “cruel practices” of the Pakistani state have gained momentum in Balochistan. The people of Balochistan are being “harassed” in a myriad of ways – political workers and rights activists are being “forcibly disappeared” and killed in fake encounters. They said that residents of Balochistan are being physically and mentally “tortured.”
The speakers said that the “state-sponsored tyranny” has reached such a critical stage that minors are being sexually assaulted by Pakistani security forces. They said that the Hoshap incident is not an isolated event – the security forces have perpetrated similar grotesque crimes in the past. Misusing their authority, these forces have raided the houses of political workers, mishandled women and children and vandalized their possessions.
They said that the government needs to establish a commission to fairly investigate the “inhumane” incident occurring throughout Balochistan so that the culprits could be brought to justice. They said that the government needs to pay attention to the various issues plaguing Balochistan. It must acknowledge all the mistakes it has made so far and adopt a pragmatic approach to solving these issue in the future, they concluded.