Baloch protesters give govt 7-day ultimatum to meet demands

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ISLAMABAD (News Desk): The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), one of the groups organising the Baloch protest march in Islamabad, on Thursday issued a seven-day ultimatum to the government to meet all its demands or the movement would put forth its case before the Baloch people.

Dr Mahrang Baloch, one of the organisers of the protest that is demanding an end to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of their community, said in an Islamabad press conference today that the government was being given a week for negotiations on the following demands.

Dr Mahrang said that a fact-finding mission hea­ded by a UN Working Group should be sent for a detailed investigation into rights violations in Balochistan, an agreement should be signed under the auspices of the Working Group for the elimination of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, all victims of enforced disappearances should be immediately released, restrictions should be put on the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and “state-sponsored death squads” should be eliminated as well.

She further demanded that the Ministry of Interior should “confess” to the alleged deaths of disappeared persons in fake encounters, adding that an acknowledgement letter be issued regarding this and a press conference held with the names of all victims.

Dr Mahrang also said that fake cases against all peaceful protesters should be taken back.

“If the state does not hold sincere negotiations on the above demands and does not show seriousness and if the treatment of the past week with protesters continues then after seven days, the movement will express its disappointment with all state institutions against state policies of genocide and treating Balochistan like a colony, and put its case before the Baloch people.”

She added that the Baloch people would then be the ones to decide matters.

Dr Mahrang said the state would have to make clear in the week to the people how serious it was about the “Baloch genocide”. She said the state would have to practically prove and end all human rights violations and illegal measures in Balochistan.

“The decision will be in the court of the Baloch people if the state is not ready to change its colonial mindset.”

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