Mahrang Baloch bemoans enforcement of section 144

F.P. Report

QUETTA: Activist Dr Mahrang Baloch on Saturday lambasted the imposition of Section 144 in Quetta by the provincial government, calling it “an attempt to disrupt and disturb our right to peaceful assembly.”

After conducting a month-long protest sit-in in Islamabad, the participants of the Turbat long march, led by Dr Baloch, had on Thursday arrived in Quetta with a plan to stage a rally in the provincial capital today. The protest march had originated in Turbat following the alleged extrajudicial killing of Balaach Mola Bakhsh, attributed to the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). The participants had demanded the registration of an FIR against the officials involved.

Starting their march from Turbat, the participants travelled through various areas, ultimately reaching Islamabad. There, they staged a sit-in in front of the National Press Club, advocating for an end to enforced disappearances of students, political workers, and human rights defenders.

They called for the establishment of a judicial commission to investigate the killing of missing persons. The protesters had on Tuesday announced to call off their sit-in outside the NPC and move to Quetta.