Pakistan police arrest hundreds as women-led protests reach Islamabad

Police say they have started releasing protestors who reached Islamabad in a rally against killing of a minority

Pakistan police arrested hundreds of protesters who marched on the capital Islamabad on Thursday to denounce forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the military-controlled southwestern province of Balochistan.

Police fired water cannon and used batons to disperse dozens of women activists, including protest leader Mahrang Baloch who was among those arrested, in an overnight crackdown in Islamabad.

Nearly 200 protesters took part in the 1,600km (1,000-mile) convoy in protest against what they described as the “genocide” of the Baloch minority, seeking answers from the government over the death of Balaach Mola Bakhsh.

The 24-year-old died in police custody in Balochistan in November. His relatives have alleged that the man was shot dead while in custody.

Prominent activist Ms Baloch took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and said she was arrested by the Islamabad police. “While we are all legally free, we appeal to the public to stand up against the oppression of this fascist state,” she said.

Late on Thursday, caretaker minister of information Murtaza Solangi said that the government had started releasing most of the rally protesters, including women and children, adding that the rest would be freed once police have finished their investigations.

Mr Solangi said the government would consider the protesters’ demands. “Those who had not been identified would be freed on Friday after the completion of an inquiry being conducted on the directives of the Islamabad High Court,” he said in a joint statement with other ministers.

The protesters’ convoy of vehicles reached Islamabad at dawn on Thursday and were stopped by the police, who asked them to turn around. On refusal from the protesters, the police resorted to force and started beating dozens of activists.

Baloch activist Farida Baluch said her “elderly mother and niece, symbols of resilience, faced arrest and brutality in Islamabad.” She urged the international community to take “notice of the plight of Baloch activists and missing persons’ families.”

The activist groups leading the protests have denied the government’s statement saying most of the demonstrators had been released.

“28th day of the movement against Baloch Genocide; the detained females have been released at last after 26 hours of humiliation, harassment and torture from Islamabad Police,” said Baloch Yakjehti Committee said in a social media post.

It added that 162 male protestors have been shifted to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi and more than 50 males are detained across different police stations in Islamabad.

“We request and appeal to the Baloch nation to continue their protests against the inhumane treatment of protesters in Islamabad and stand up against this treatment of Baloch nation and raise their voice in each and every possible way for those detained friends, who had the courage to speak and stand against the mass genocide of Baloch nation,” it said on Friday morning.

According to police officials, Bakhsh was carrying explosives at the time of his arrest in November but died two days later when militants ambushed a police van that was transporting him.

However, activists have said that the young man died in a staged counterterrorism operation and that the Pakistan police were holding him since they arrested him in October.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned the “violent police crackdown on Baloch protesters in Islamabad” where it said women, children and older people were subjected to unwarranted force in the form of water cannon and batons.

“Numerous women protesters have reportedly been arrested and separated from their male relatives and allies,” the statement said. It said the rallygoers were denied their constitutional right to peacefully protest.

The commission demanded an immediate release of the detainees and sought an apology from the government.