Murtaza Solangi expresses govt’s desire to find a peaceful solution of all genuine concerns raised by Baloch protesters in Islamabad through negotiations

ISLAMABAD/QUETTA, Dec 24 (SABAH): Caretaker Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Murtaza Solangi, has expressed the government’s desire to find a peaceful solution of all genuine concerns raised by Baloch protesters in Islamabad through negotiations.

In an interview with private news TV Channel, Murtaza Solangi said efforts are underway to address their concerns through dialogue and bring them back to their homes with dignity, respect, and safety.

He said a majority of protesters from Balochistan are women. He said that women, who were detained two days ago, have already been released. The Minister further said that the release of 163 detained men is currently underway.

The Minister emphasized that every individual has the right to hold peaceful protest, and government is ensuring well-being of the protestors. He said security, ambulance and medical facilities are available for the protestors.

Murtaza Solangi assured that protesters from Balochistan were not stopped anywhere during their journey, and they were treated respectfully without any misconduct.

Meanwhile the Islamabad police on Sunday said they are releasing the Baloch protestors, who were arrested during demonstration in the federal capital against the “enforced disappearances” of their loved ones, following an approval of the bail.

In a statement issued on Sunday on X, formerly Twitter, the Islamabad police said that the releases are underway, while a special help centre with SSP Abdul Haq Imrani as the focal person has been set up for the process.

In an earlier post, the police said that the protesters had demanded the release of their detained companions during a meeting with a cabinet committee formed by the prime minister.

“Keeping in view the legal requirements, the bail of the arrested protesters has been approved. The detained protesters are being released,” it said, adding that the relatives of the detainees should contact them for information and assistance so that legal assistance can be provided.

Earlier, the Islamabad police said that the court had issued the orders to release 163 protesters after approving their bail.

In a later post, the police said a special help centre had been established to facilitate the release of the detained persons. It said the centre would be functional for two days and would be supervised by the DIG operations and SSP operations..

Earlier in the day, the caretaker government had said it was holding negotiations with the protesters. Interior Secretary Aftab Akbar Durrani had emphasised that staging peaceful protests was every Pakistani’s right.

“We have ensured, on the orders of the prime minister, that no protesters are harmed, tortured or harassed in any way, “ he had noted in a statement. At the same time, the interior secretary had also asserted that no one would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.

“The implementation of the court order will be ensured,” he had added, referring to the IHC’s directives, in which it had advised the capital police chief to concentrate on controlling street crimes rather than flexing their muscles against protesters.

Addressing a press conference in Quetta, Balochistan Caretaker Information Minister Jan Achakzai said that hundreds of thousands of non-Baloch had been expelled from the province. “Thousands were killed. Every day, from the poor to the highly educated, have been killed in Balochistan,” he said.

He asked why no one was talking about this, when people had been killed just on the basis of their identity. He said that the non-Baloch were being killed and asked why there was silence in this regard.

“Missing persons are Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) terrorists — they are in the mountains or they are in being taught in India’s training camps,” he said. Achakzai further said that militants were putting women on the forefront to put pressure on the state.

He said that the militant groups were at war with the state, one they would never win.

“Further, saying that this is a long march by the committee — there is no Baloch committee or Baloch Yakjehti Council,” he said, adding that the people of the province were as patriotic as those in other provinces.

“Therefore, [they] cannot represent the Baloch people. A handful of people left from Turbat under an agenda, headed to Islamabad on a long march and tried to manipulate the people through the media,” he said.

He said that the provincial government had listened to the protesters and launched an inquiry against the “people they wanted”. “Apart from this, we also suspended people,” he said.

“Now, their demands are beyond understanding. Disarming the CTD is equivalent to disarming the state of Pakistan. No state can disarm any of its institutions. If there are 150 incidents of terrorism in Turbat and 66 people are martyred, then no institution can think of accepting the demands of a handful of people for disarming the state,” he said.

The minister said the protesters first went to Quetta and then “Baloch dominated areas” where they had planted people.

“It does not make sense to go to Kohlu. Then they went to Dera Ismail Khan where people from the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) joined them […] We know their agenda, they will not be successful,” he said.

Achakzai also claimed that women were not baton-charged by Islamabad police. He said that there were people present in the federal capital with masked faces and Islamabad police were compelled to use water cannons.

“The narrative that women were baton-charged is wrong. No woman was targeted. This is social media propaganda,” he said.

He further said that the Baloch protesters were “facilitating militants, their political voice and are trying to give them a platform which is unacceptable”.

“Law and order is our responsibility. No one will be allowed to cripple Balochistan’s main highways,” he said.

Separately, PPP Senator and former chairman senate Mian Raza Rabbani issued a statement in which he condemned the “high-handed and ruthless manner in which the Islamabad police has dealt with the long marchers from Balochistan”.

“The treatment meted out to women was not in accordance with Pakistani tradition and culture. There was no justification in arresting Balochi students studying in Islamabad,” he said.

“The government must realise that these are not militants or terrorists but citizens who are protesting to be treated in accordance with the law and the Constitution,” he said.

He further said that the people of Balochistan continued to be denied their economic and political rights, adding that these needed to be guaranteed immediately in order to bring stability to the province.

“Such an attitude [by] the state will further sharpen the internal political fault lines and sow the seeds of distrust in the younger generation,” he said. Mian Raza Rabbani said that the Senate should invite the state and all stakeholders for a dialogue to resolve these issues “within the constitutional framework”.