As the peaceful sit-in protest by Baloch families outside the National Press Club in Islamabad enters its third week, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has accused Pakistani authorities of intensifying harassment and surveillance of demonstrators, including women and children.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the BYC condemned what it described as a deliberate attempt by state institutions to isolate, intimidate, and silence Baloch voices. The group reiterated its demands for the immediate release of detained BYC leaders and an end to the longstanding issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan.
The protest site remains heavily restricted, with roads leading to the area sealed off by buses and barricades. BYC alleged that these measures are not for public safety but to obscure the demonstrators — including grieving mothers and children — from public visibility. The group also claimed that participants are being subjected to profiling, identity checks, and surveillance by intelligence agencies. Male students are reportedly being filmed, while families are followed back to their makeshift shelters.
Despite soaring temperatures, the authorities have not permitted the protestors to set up tents or shade structures. As a result, several children and women have reportedly fainted from heat exhaustion, with many having earlier endured rain and flooding without any state-provided relief.
“Yet these families remain unshaken,” the BYC said. “They refuse to leave until they are heard, until there is justice.”
The group has appealed to journalists, civil society organisations, and human rights defenders to stand in solidarity with the protestors, urging them to visit the sit-in, amplify their voices, and help draw national and international attention to their demands.
Meanwhile, the Baloch National Movement’s Human Rights Department, Paank, reported the recent abduction of a 15-year-old boy, Qamber Fida, from Tump tehsil in Kech district, Balochistan. According to Paank, Fida was forcibly taken from his home on July 24 by Pakistani security forces without charge or legal process.
Paank condemned the abduction as a violation of international human rights law, categorising it as an act of enforced disappearance. The organisation called for Fida’s immediate and unconditional release, stating, “The rights to life, liberty, and security must be upheld without exception. Baloch lives matter, and the world must not stay silent.”
The Islamabad sit-in and the reported disappearance of Qamber Fida underscore the deepening human rights crisis in Balochistan, where enforced disappearances and repression of dissent remain critical issues.
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