The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Thursday urged the government to immediately and unconditionally release Baloch protesters who had marched from Turbat to the federal capital and to send a delegation to hear their legitimate demands.
In a statement released by the Commission's Chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt on Thursday evening, the commission said that it strongly condemns the violent state crackdown on Baloch citizens who have led a long march from Turbat to Islamabad as a protest against the alleged extrajudicial killing of young Balach Baloch and others in Turbat.
"HRCP is appalled by the state's response to peaceful protestors, with women, children and the elderly subjected to unwarranted force in the form of water cannons and use of batons. Numerous women protestors have reportedly been arrested and separated from their male relatives and allies. At least one Baloch woman journalist covering the long march has also been arrested," the statement read.
This treatment of Baloch citizens exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression is inexcusable, said the commission.
"An obdurate state that responds to calls for the right to life, liberty, and due process to be upheld by resorting to force at every stage is a state that has shed its constitutional and moral responsibility for protecting and fulfilling the rights of all citizens."
The commission called on the government to immediately and unconditionally release all those who were detained.
"We strongly urge the government to organise a delegation immediately to meet the protesters, give their legitimate demands a fair hearing and commit to upholding the rights of the Baloch people," it said, adding that the state's widespread use of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings also warrants a prompt and transparent investigation as well as a commitment to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Concerns over the safety of those arrested
In a separate statement, the Front Line Defenders (FDL) expressed extreme concern for the safety of those arrested, including woman human rights defender Mahrang Baloch, who has publicly shared the reprisals that protesters have been facing, including the mass arrests.
"Front Line Defenders believes the arrest of these protestors is an act of reprisal against their peaceful human rights work and the exercise of their legitimate right to peacefully protest," the statement said.
It noted that given the history of criminalisation, abuse of anti-terror laws, and custodial violence of the state, they were deeply concerned for the safety of all those in custody.
"We are also concerned about the possibility of reprisals, including surveillance, false legal cases, raids and other forms of violence against the Baloch human rights community as punishment for their support for, or participation in, the long march," it said as it demanded an the immediate release of the detainees.
"Initiate impartial and effective inquiries into the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, including human rights defenders, with a view to holding those responsible accountable and publishing the findings; Ensure credible engagement with the Baloch human rights community and those engaging in the peaceful Baloch Long March protest towards addressing their legitimate grievances," it said, adding, "Ensure that all human rights defenders in Pakistan, including those from traditionally oppressed, minority communities, such as the Baloch community, are guaranteed the right to carry out their human rights work in a safe environment, free from reprisals and violence."