A women-led rally in Pakistan's Islamabad was met with water cannons and tear gas on Thursday, leading to the arrest of over 200 protestors. The protest led by human rights activist Mahrang Baloch is a march across the country against the alleged disappearance of men in Balochistan. The protestors have been rallying for weeks in different regions of Pakistan and reached Islamabad on Thursday, where the police attempted to stop them from entering the Red Zone, which is where Islamabad's government offices are located.
Mahrang Baloch tweeted about the police attack and her arrest. The police officers are seen bearing batons and wearing protective headgear, shoving protestors into police vans. The chaotic videos of the incident have circulated on social media where the women are seen resisting arrest.
What Are The Protests About?
The protests were sparked by the death of a Baloch man whose relatives allege was shot dead while in police custody. The protestors are demanding answers for the alleged enforced disappearances following undeclared arrests by intelligence services in Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province.
According to the protestors, the arrests of people including political workers, journalists, and activists are undocumented, cannot be traced by courts, and are not acknowledged by the government. Such protests have been going on for decades, since the initiation of the Balochistan nationalist movement in the early 2000s.
Recently, they were sparked by the arrest of Balach Mola Bakhsh, who was taken away by counter-terrorism police on 29 October. The 24-year-old was held for almost a month before authorities claimed that he had been caught in possession of explosives, according to reports. His bail plea was scheduled for November 24.
However, a day before his bail plea, the police said that four "terrorists" from a "proscribed group", including Baksh, had been killed during a shootout with police in Turbat, a city in Balochistan, while his family believes he was killed in police custody. Many such cases have been reported against the police.
For decades, many Baloch women have sought justice for their missing loved ones and rallied to bring the issue to global attention. They call it the "march against Baloch genocide." They are demanding an end to extrajudicial killings, as well as accountability.
Speaking to the BBC before she was arrested, Mahrang Baloch said, "We started our march more than 26 days ago. We are hundreds and thousands of mothers, sisters and daughters of men [who] disappeared or [were] killed... [The authorities] will do anything to stop us, but we will not stop. We all are peaceful protesters and we will remain peaceful, even [when] they're not peaceful to us."
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