The sit-in protest in four districts of Balochistan province continued for the ninth consecutive day on Monday, thrashing the government’s claims of a resolution. Carrying the recently awarded label of a ‘proxy of terrorists and criminals’, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee announced a weeklong vigil starting Tuesday in memory of its members killed since July 28.
According to a latest statement issued by the group, protests in Quetta, Gwadar, Turbat, Nushki, and other areas would continue until the implementation of their demands. It said that the people were determined to continue the peaceful protest for their rights. “We are continuing our sit-in with courage despite all difficulties,” the group said.
“The success of the National Grand Jirga has taken the people’s resistance struggle a step forward, but we believe it is a long and hard struggle,” the group said, urging its supporters to be mentally prepared for the long and patient struggle. “People’s power is the real power. The state’s power is just a pile of dust before the people.” In a separate statement, the committee announced observing candlelit vigils across the province in memory of those killed in Baloch Raji Muchi as well as those killed during the ensuing protests.
On the other hand, the military spokesperson came down hard on the rights group for the first time since the protests began, regretting ‘foreign powers’ were using the people against their own country The military had to get involved after repeatedly being targeted by the committee, which accused the forces of transgression and launching crackdown on the people.
“They are nothing more than a proxy of terrorist organizations,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad. He implied that some people were playing in the hands of ‘criminals’ in order to defame law enforcers and make development protects in the province controversial. Despite an announcement of a ‘successful’ negotiations with the protesters, sit-ins in different cities continued, and were met with crackdowns by the police.
In a statement, the committee members said that the state had intensified its crackdown on peaceful protesters across the country despite negotiations, leading to increased casualties and injuries among civilians. They said that the brutal actions showed the government’s intentions to suppress the peaceful movement. They said they would not abandon their fight for basic human rights and dignity, or yield to violent and oppressive tactics.
Footage available with Jarida Today showed officials in Sindh Police uniforms trying to disperse protesters staging a sit-in in Karachi to show solidarity with Baloch Raji Muchi and to protest the crackdown on the movement. “Many of the peaceful protesters were arrested and detained by the police in the wee hours of Saturday. When the protesters resisted, the police were compelled to release some of them, though more than 10 protesters remain detained,” the group said.
It said that the officials were negotiating with one hand while arresting and harassing protesters with the other. It also said that the protesters continued their sit-in on the National Highway (N-40), blocking the main road in response to the violence in Nushki. The committee said that the police had earlier opened fire on peaceful protesters, as a result of which a man named Sangat Hamdan Baloch was killed, while scores of others were injured. The group said that it would not back down from its stance despite oppression, instead the public resistance would intensify, fueled by the blood of youth.
In a statement, rights activist Dr Mahrang Baloch had said that the heirs of those martyred in the Baloch Raji Muchi would not accept any compensation. “I want to emphasize an important point to those who suggest that compensation should be sought for the blood of our sons, we categorically state that our martyrs’ blood is not so cheap that we would accept compensation and insult the memory of our martyrs,” she said. “The value of our martyrs’ blood is not Rs500,000 or Rs1 million, but continuous struggle, resistance, solidarity, and our goal.”
She said that no compensation would be sought from the government for the treatment of the people injured in the Raji Muchi caravan. “Instead, we will treat all injured friends through self-help. If we need to collect donations, we will run door-to-door campaigns, but we will not accept compensation from the state under any circumstances, and we will prove that we are a living and brave people,” she said.
On the other hand, the government stated that negotiations with the committee remained successful, and that a seven-point agreement had been signed, leading to the end of protests in Gwadar. Minister for Home Affairs Mir Zia Ullah Langov announced the ‘breakthrough’ and said in a statement that people had the right to protest, but no one could take the law into their hands.
Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar said that under a special package, the government would give Rs5 million to the family of each missing person. He said a special committee would determine which families of missing persons were in need of immediate financial assistance, and added that 1,000 would be prioritized. He insisted that it was support for the families facing economic hardships and not compensation.
This might sound like a positive step, but the people saw it as an attempt to buy their silence. Friday’s developments also raised a number of questions, the most important being: “Are the protests really coming to an end in the near future?” The government might be announcing victory, but the real battle is far from over, which was evident from continued protests.