Pakistan: FIR filed against activists for welcoming Baloch Long March in DI Khan
Dec 24, 2023
Islamabad [Pakistan], December 24 : An FIR was registered against several Pashtun political activists including nationalist leader Ali Wazir for welcoming the Baloch Genocide, Balochistan Post reported on Sunday.
An FIR was registered against many Pashtun political activists including Pashtun nationalist leader Ali Wazir for welcoming the long march in Turbat against enforced disappearances.
The Long March was carried out from Quetta to Islamabad in the city of DI Khan, Pakistan, Balochistan Post reported.
Mahrang Baloch, the leader of the Baloch Solidarity Committee reacted to the FIR and said, "I do not understand those people who find our stand tough but are closing their eyes to the brutality of the state".
He said that an FIR was registered against many Pashtun political activists including Ali Wazir for welcoming the long march in DI Khan, according to Balochistan Post.
"Now what is this if not a state scandal," she stated.
Earlier in the day, days after being held for protesting against 'enforced disappearances' against the Pakistani government, the detained Baloch protestors were released by the Islamabad Police on Sunday, after their bail was approved, The News International reported.
The development came after the Baloch protesters gave a three-day ultimatum to the Islamabad authorities, seeking the release of all students and demanding the dismissal of all the cases against the protestors.
Notably, the police action against the Baloch women and men triggered widespread condemnations from human rights bodies and political parties. Even the federal ministers admitted that the "protestors who reached Islamabad from Balochistan were not involved in the violence."
Earlier this week, Islamabad Police detained several Baloch protesters after using water cannons and baton charges to break up a protest against enforced disappearances, ARY News reported.
Hearing a petition filed by long march organisers against the "illegal" arrests of Baloch protestors, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled that it is their "constitutional right" to hold protests.
Earlier, the Islamabad police said that the court had issued orders to release 163 protesters after approving their bail.
Meanwhile, the Baloch Yakjahti Committee said that the protest sit-in continues in front of the National Press Club in Islamabad.
