Why ethnic Baluchi protests have left Pakistan’s main port of Gwadar on alert | Protest news

Islamabad, Pakistan – Tensions are high in Pakistan’s port city of Gwadar, in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where a Baloch ethnic group has been protesting for days following the arrests of some of its members and deadly clashes with security forces.

Gwadar is Pakistan’s only deep-water port in the Arabian Sea and is an important route of the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The latest tensions in the port city began on Friday after the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) called for demonstrations against alleged human rights violations, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of people in Balochistan, the country’s largest and poorest province. Pakistan.

Home to approximately 15 million of Pakistan’s estimated 240 million people, according to the 2023 census, Balochistan is rich in natural resources, including reserves of oil, coal, gold, copper and gas, which generate substantial revenue for the government. federal.

The ethnic Baloch claim that the Pakistani state has neglected their community and exploited the province’s mineral resources. Anger has fueled separatist sentiments, with the province witnessing at least five rebel movements since the formation of Pakistan in 1947.

The latest wave of rebellion began in the early 2000s to demand a greater share of the province’s resources and even calls for full independence. Since then, Pakistani security forces have launched a harsh crackdown on the rebellion, killing thousands of people over the past two decades.

Gwadar, due to its economic prominence, has been a hotbed of violence by armed and separatist groups, the latest occurring in March this year when eight men attempted to enter the Gwadar Port Authority complex before being killed by security officers. security.

Arrests and blockades

On Sunday, the BYC convened a “Baloch Rajee Muchi”, or Baloch National Gathering, in Gwadar. However, as convoys from different parts of the vast province headed towards the city, police authorities began blocking the main highways leading there, resulting in clashes in some places.

The BYC claims that security forces opened fire during one such clash on Saturday in Mastung district, killing one person and wounding several others.

“The paramilitary force opened fire on a convoy comprising hundreds of people, including women and children, traveling from Quetta to Gwadar,” BYC representative Bebarg Baloch told Al Jazeera.

In a statement released on Monday, the Pakistani military said that one of its soldiers was also killed in “unprovoked attacks by a violent mob” and that 16 other soldiers were injured.

Dozens of Balochs were arrested by security forces during the clashes as mobile and internet services were suspended in Gwadar for the fifth consecutive day on Wednesday.

The BYC said two of its prominent leaders, Sammi Deen Baloch and Sabiha Baloch, were detained by authorities in Gwadar on Monday and their whereabouts are unknown.

Angry protesters also gathered in other cities in the province, including the provincial capital Quetta, Kech and Mastung, to demand his release.

Meanwhile, BYC leader Mahrang Baloch issued a statement on Sunday evening outlining two main demands: the opening of highways to allow Baloch protesters to reach Gwadar and the release of dozens of its members arrested by enforcement agencies of the law since last week.

Speaking to a crowd of hundreds in Gwadar that night, Mahrang, 31, said the people of Gwadar came out in large numbers to resist “state oppression”.

“The state and its institutions tried to stop us from holding this meeting by blocking roads and arresting our people, but today the entire Gwadar is here to send a message: we will no longer tolerate oppression of the Baloch nation,” she said.

“I know I could be this state’s next target, but unity is our strength and we must remain united.”

BYC member Sadia Baloch told Al Jazeera from Quetta on Tuesday that they will continue to protest until all those arrested are released.

“We have thousands of people protesting across Balochistan who have been prevented by authorities from traveling to Gwadar,” she told Al Jazeera. “Sammi and Sabiha were rescued from a protest and we don’t know where they are. No one from the local authorities is giving an answer.”

Al Jazeera contacted local authorities and government officials in Gwadar and Quetta, but did not receive any response.

‘Repeated punitive crackdowns’

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Monday criticized the protests.

“We were offering them space to hold a rally elsewhere, but they refused and remained adamant on holding it in Gwadar. The purpose behind this chaos is to sabotage all the development and progress the province has seen,” he said from inside the state assembly.

Bugti said that while citizens have the right to assemble, they should not have “intentions to disturb peace and order.”

But rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday accused authorities of trying to “defame and criminalize peaceful protesters.”

“Every time Baloch protests occur, their demands are met with violence by security forces and mass arrests,” he said in a statement shared with Al Jazeera, demanding that “the repeated punitive crackdowns” on Baloch protests must end.

“Amnesty International calls for an end to the brutal repression of Baloch protests and the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained for exercising their right to peaceful assembly,” it said.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also criticized the “unnecessary” use of force against Baloch protesters and the suspension of internet and mobile services.

“They should constitute a high-level parliamentary delegation to meet Baloch representatives and listen carefully to their demands,” he said in a statement.

Additional reporting by Saadullah Akhter in Quetta.