Dozens of people gathered in front of the Lahore Press Club on Wednesday for a demonstration organised by the Awami Workers Party to condemn the killings, arrests, and coercion of unarmed Baloch civilians in the guise of security measures.
They called for a halt to military operations in Panjgur, Khuzdar, and Mastung districts of Balochistan. The protesters also condemned the recent discovery of mass graves in Khuzdar. Afsheen Baloch, one of the activists from Balochistan, said witnesses had reported that the bodies were covered in corrosive chemicals which had made identification impossible.
The protestors held placards calling for solidarity among Baloch, Hazara and Pashtun communities in Balochistan. They chanted slogans demanding accountability of military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies.
AWP Lahore general secretary Shazia Khan said the AWP stood firmly with the Baloch people in their struggle for basic economic, political and social freedoms.
AWP general secretary Farooq Tariq said it was a shame that the state was using the pretext of ‘fighting terrorism’ to kill Baloch people and debating negotiations with right-wing militants at the same time. He said it should dismantle the groups claiming responsibility for killing a large number of ordinary Pakistanis.National Students Federation general secretary, Alia Amirali, said it was the duty of left-wing political forces to unify the struggles of marginalised Pakistanis.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2014.