ISLAMABAD: The Baloch protesters who started a sit-in in Islamabad demanding recovery of their missing relatives on Tuesday called off their sit-in after over a month.
The announcement to end the protest camp outside the National Press Club was made by leaders of the protest Mahrang Baloch and others at a press conference.
They said they are winding up the protest camp and going back to Balochistan and would hold a public gathering there on January 27.
Two days ago, the management of the Press Club wrote a letter to the district administration of Islamabad to relocate the protest camp from outside the press club saying it was affecting routine working of the club as well as daily life of the nearby residents.
It may be recalled that the protesters, including women, had reached Islamabad on December 20, 2023, demanding recovery of their loved ones they alleged had been picked up by security forces years back.
Despite giving deadline to the government, there was no progress on fulfillment of their demands and the protesters alleged that the police and other law enforcement agencies continued harassing them.
The Baloch Yakjahti Committee had organized the protest.
The long march led by Baloch women, which started in Turbat on December 6 after the alleged “extrajudicial killing” of a Baloch youth by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials, had reached the federal capital on December 21. However, the police had blocked entry points of the city along with major arteries to prevent the protesters from reaching the NPC.
Police in Islamabad took over 200 of the protesters, including women, into custody after using tear gas, water cannons and batons on them after their arrival in Islamabad.
Baloch Yakjehti Committee in a statement issued had condemned the police high-handedness against the protesters in Islamabad and gave the government three days to release the protesters and quash cases against them.
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