Police in Balochistan have registered a case against over 150 people, including Baloch Yakjethi Committee leaders Dr. Mahrang Baloch and Dr. Sabiha Baloch, under sections pertaining to terrorism, incitement to rebellion, murder and other charges.
According to the First Information Report, the accused violated Sections 7 and 11W of the Anti-Terrorism Act, as well as 16 sections of the Pakistan Penal Code. It cites an incident at Civil Hospital last week when demonstrators forcibly took at least five bodies from the morgue. The BYC claims the bodies were of missing persons and they wished to confirm their identities, while the government maintains the bodies belonged to militants slain during the Jaffar Express hijacking.
The BYC subsequently claimed police, who have denied any involvement in the deaths, slew three protesters. The FIR states that the BYC “assisted” rioters in opening fire on police officers and passersby, resulting in the three deaths and injuries to 15 police offices. Authorities later stormed a sit-in against the deaths, arresting Mahrang and 17 others. In a statement, Quetta Commissioner Hamza Shafqat said they were detained at Quetta District Jail under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance for 30 days.
After Saturday’s arrests, the BYC called for shutter-down strikes across Balochistan. The protesters have demanded the immediate release of the BYC leaders and action against officers allegedly involved in the violence against demonstrators in Quetta. The
Amnesty International and U.N. officials have called for the immediate release of Mahrang Baloch and other BYC leaders.