Pakistani security personnel baton charged protesters organized by the family of missing student Bahadur Bashir at Pasni Zero Point in Balochistan on Thursday, as reported by The Balochistan Post. Several protesters, including women and children, were injured.
Bahadur Bashir, a student at Karachi University, was detained by security forces in Pasni while visiting family for Eid. The family has been protesting for his release for several days. The protest was called off after authorities promised his release, but resumed when this promise was not fulfilled, blocking the Makran Coastal Highway and causing traffic disruptions.
Security forces attempted to clear the highway by forcibly removing the protesters, as reported by The Balochistan Post. They baton-charged the protesters and tried to seize their phones, injuring several women. Protesters claimed that the security personnel used an excuse to disperse them. According to the protesters, security forces claimed they needed to open the highway for an ambulance carrying a critically ill patient, but when asked to see the patient and the ambulance, the forces responded with baton charges and attempted to confiscate their phones. Protesters stated there was no ambulance or patient present.
Bahadur Bashir’s family vowed to continue their protest until he is released. Social activist Fazila Baloch raised the issue on social media platform X, stating, “Today, FC forces along with Police raided the peaceful protest, subjected the women with violence and beat elder brother of Bahadur and also took his mobile phone.”
Balochistan..
In Pasni: Bahadur family was protesting for his safe release at Pasni Zero-Point since yesterday.
Today, FC forces along with Police raided the peaceful protest, subjected the women with violence and beat elder brother of Bahadur and also took his mobile phone. pic.twitter.com/ifBDghImC1
— Fazila Baloch🌺☀️ (@IFazilaBaloch) June 27, 2024
Earlier this month, families of forcibly disappeared individuals held a protest rally on the first day of Eid in Kech, Turbat, with a large turnout demanding the recovery of their missing loved ones. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee, a prominent advocacy group, highlighted the issue on social media, citing a United Nations report emphasizing the broader impact of enforced disappearances. The committee stated, “Enforced disappearance has frequently been used as a strategy to spread terror within society. The feeling of insecurity generated by this practice is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared but also affects their communities and society as a whole. It is a crime against humanity.”
The committee further accused the state of Pakistan of dehumanizing the Baloch people through systematic enforced disappearances and alleged genocide, adding, “However, the State of Pakistan constantly reminds us—by committing this crime and our genocide—that Baloch don’t qualify to be human. The international community and human rights advocates, proud of their humanity, seem to agree with the state by keeping their silence on crimes against the Baloch people.”