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

In a statement, 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. Numerous women protestors have reportedly been arrested and separated from their male relatives and allies. At least one Baloch woman journalist covering the long march has also been arrested.

The human rights watch dog said: “This treatment of 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 organize 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, the HRCP concluded.