Quetta:Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal, the head of the Balochistan National Party and a member of the National Assembly, strongly criticized the use of baton charges and tear gas by the police against peaceful protesters, including Baloch women and children, during a rally of relatives of missing persons in Quetta.
In an exclusive interview with a private TV channel, Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal expressed outrage over the violent crackdown on the peaceful rally participants. “It has become evident today how Balochistan is being plundered and orphaned. The police have initiated an operation in Balochistan, and this operation is clearly against the Baloch people,” he stated.
“The operation began with a crackdown from Siryaab Road, which should have been carried out by the police first, but we have seen how police officers dragged the scarves from the heads of Baloch mothers and sisters and how male police officers treated our mothers and sisters,” he continued.
Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal emphasized that the use of baton charges, tear gas, and arrests against women and children in the peaceful protest rally in Quetta is unacceptable. “This inhumane act of violence against Baloch women and children is intolerable. Such actions trample upon the dignity of Baloch women, who hold a prominent position in our society,” he remarked.
He called for stringent legal action against the police officers involved in the baton charging, tear gassing, and arrests of protesters, demanding the immediate release of all arrested individuals, including political activists and forcibly disappeared youth. “We were protesting peacefully for the recovery of missing persons, but today’s events in Quetta have shown the world how our Baloch sisters and mothers were treated,” he lamented.
Comparing the situation in Palestine to Balochistan, Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal underscored the need for international attention to the human rights violations in Balochistan. “What is happening in Balochistan is akin to a massacre of the Baloch people. The state’s tyranny is uniting the Baloch nation more than ever against the oppressors,” he asserted.
In conclusion, Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal urged the provincial government and senior leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to take responsibility for the violent acts perpetrated against Baloch women and children. He criticized the collusion of provincial authorities with the establishment for exploiting Balochistan’s resources at the cost of its people.
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