Islamabad, July 23:
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has strongly condemned Pakistani authorities for blocking roads leading to the Islamabad Press Club, where Baloch families are staging a sit-in protest against the illegal detention of BYC leaders and enforced disappearances. As the demonstration entered its eighth consecutive day, the BYC accused authorities of using buses and barbed wire to confine protestors and prevent public visibility of the protest.
“These families—many of them elderly women, mothers, and children—have traveled from Balochistan seeking justice, not isolation,” the BYC said in a statement on X. “Yet they are being trapped, hidden from public view, and denied their democratic right to protest.” The group urged citizens, journalists, and human rights defenders to stand in solidarity with the protestors.
On July 21, the Baloch Voice for Justice also criticized Islamabad authorities for forcibly evicting Baloch protestors—including women and children—from their residence, after reportedly cutting off their water supply and exposing them to harsh weather.
Nadia Baloch, sister of BYC Central Organiser Mahrang Baloch, issued a scathing statement accusing Islamabad Police and state institutions of subjecting Baloch women to treatment “worse than that given to immigrants in any country.” She condemned the eviction of Baloch families in the middle of the night, calling it a blatant act of state oppression and racial discrimination.
“Are Baloch equal citizens of this country or not?” Nadia questioned. “If we are not given the right to live, speak, or seek justice in Islamabad, we must rethink our relationship with this state.”
Nadia reaffirmed the community’s commitment to peaceful, constitutional protest but warned that if state repression continues, Baloch women will not remain silent. “This country belongs to us too. If you push us, we will respond in a language you understand,” she declared.
