Quetta:
The High Court of Balutchistan (BHC) allowed the family of the activist detained by Dr. Mahrang Baloch to visit him in prison.
A bench of two members, including the Rozi Khan Barraich judges and Shaukat Ali Rakhshani, heard a petition deposited by her sister, Nadia Baloch, contesting her detention. The court accepted the request and issued opinions to the competent authorities, granting them one week to provide details of the cases.
Dr. Baloch was arrested under article 3 of the order of public order (MPO), which his lawyer supported, violated constitutional rights. The court concluded that the case deserves to be examined and approved a request allowing his family and a legal advisor to meet them at the district prison of Quetta.
Dr. Baloch, the chief organizer of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), was placed in police custody with his several supporters after a confrontation with the police on Sariab Road near the University of Baloutchistan in Quetta last Friday.
The police, in response to stone by the BYC demonstrators, used tear gas, water cannons and empty fire to disperse them. The byc accused the police of using “excessive force against the demonstrators and of killing three people and of injuring dozens”.
Provincial government spokesperson Shahid Rind, however, refuted allegations, declaring that the demonstrators resorted to violence in stone and uninsured violence, injuring several police officers, including a constable.
Subsequently, Dr. Baloch, who directed the demonstration, launched a call for a dropping strike through the province. However, at the short hours on Saturday, Dr. Baloch was arrested, as well as 17 other demonstrators – 10 men and seven women.
Meanwhile, the Sindh government arrested Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) on Tuesday, chef Sammi Deen Baloch and four others for 30 days under public order (MPO) following the group’s demonstration in Karachi.
