LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday strongly condemned the violent crackdown on Baloch citizens who had led a long march from Turbat to Islamabad to protest the alleged extrajudicial killings of one Balach Baloch and others in Turbat.

HRCP said that it was appalled by the state’s response to peaceful protestors, with women, children and the elderly subjected to unwarranted force in the form of water cannons and use of batons. Many women protestors were reportedly arrested and separated from their male relatives and allies. At least one Baloch woman journalist covering the long march was arrested.

“This treatment to Baloch citizens exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression is inexcusable. An obdurate state that responds to calls for the right to life, liberty and due process to be upheld, by resorting to force at every stage is a state that has shed its constitutional and moral responsibility for protecting and fulfilling the rights of all citizens.”

It said that all those detained must be released immediately and unconditionally. “We strongly urge the government to organise a delegation immediately to meet the protesters, give their legitimate demands a fair hearing and commit to upholding the rights of the Baloch people. The state’s widespread use of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings also warrants a prompt and transparent investigation, as well as, a commitment to hold the perpetrators accountable.