- Dr Mahrang says they refused compensation from govt for those killed or injured during protests
QUETTA: The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) called off its sit-in in Gwadar after successful negotiations and signing of a seven-point agreement, Balochistan’s interior minister confirmed on Friday.
The sit-in was called off after an agreement was signed between Dr Mahrang Baloch, representing the protesters, and the Gwadar district’s deputy commissioner, according to the administration.
According to a statement issued by the Balochistan Home Ministry, the agreement has led to the restoration of internet services in the region.
“The ministry vowed to open all the roads for traffic and remove obstacles from the roads,” the deputy commissioner added. “The arrested people would be released after the protestors disperse peacefully,” it added.
The BYC has been holding protests for almost a week at the Marine Drive in Gwadar and other areas to decry the alleged human rights violations against the people of Balochistan, enforced disappearances, and alleged extrajudicial killings of the Baloch people.
Following days of protest, negotiations between the government and the BYC began on Wednesday evening after which officials announced that talks had been “successful” and BYC had agreed to call its sit-in off after signing a deal.
“Negotiations between the Baloch Yakjehti Committee and the district administration have been successful and the organisers of the committee have agreed to end their sit-ins across the province,” Balochistan’s Interior Minister Mir Zia Ullah Langov said in a statement.
“I appeal to the people to protest, but do not damage the protest site, attack the forces, or hurt the common people,” he said, adding that the government would “not allow anyone to take the law into their hands under the guise of protest.”
The seven-point agreement
The seven-point agreement was signed by Gwadar Deputy Commissioner Hamoodur Rehman and Dr Mahrang.
The statement said that the BYC would end its protest once all the protesters arrested by security forces in Balochistan and Karachi were released.
“Protesters who have been sent to jail on judicial remand will be released by August 5 following court proceedings, the agreement stated.
The Balochistan government will be in contact with authorities in Sindh to ensure the release of those arrested therein, the agreement stated, adding that all cases registered against the Raji Muchi (Baloch National Gathering) protesters will be withdrawn.
It, however, noted that cases related to the loss of lives during protests will not be dismissed.
“All highways will be reopened as soon as the sit-in ends, two hours after which mobile network will also be restored”, the document said.
A committee consisting of officials from BYC and the district administration will also be established, while all items confiscated from the protesters by the government will be returned within a week, it stated.
“No one will be subjected to harassment or retortion for participating in the protest once the sit-in ends,” the agreement added.
It further said that a case will be registered on the complaint of families of those killed or injured during the protests.
“Once the ongoing sit-in at Gwadar’s Marine Drive ends, all other sit-ins across the province will also be called off, the agreement noted.
‘We will not accept compensation from govt’
Meanwhile, the BYC has refused to accept any compensation from the government for those killed or injured during the protests.
“We have categorically told them [the government officials] that the blood of our martyrs is not so cheap, so we will not insult our Baloch national martyrs by accepting compensation,” Dr Mahrang Baloch wrote on the X platform.
“The reward for the blood of our national martyrs is not five or ten million rupees but continuous struggle, resistance, national unity, and national goal” she added.
She further said that the BYC was not willing to seek compensation for those injured during the protests either, adding that the group will collect donations from people even if they have to go from door to door.
“But we will not accept any compensation from this state in any case and prove that the Baloch are a living and brave nation.”
