Pakistani forces raid Baloch activist’s home in her absence; rights groups demand enquiry

Quetta, June 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) Several leading human rights organisations condemned the raid by Pakistani security forces on the residence of Sammi Deen Baloch, a member of the human rights organisation Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) in Karachi, describing it as part of the state's continuing campaign of coercion and aggression against the Baloch people.

The remarks came after Sammi Deen alleged that law enforcement personnel and intelligence officials raided her residence in her absence and without prior notice in the early hours of Monday.

She demanded an immediate explanation from Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari following the raid.

"Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari: I demand your immediate explanation. Just now, law enforcement personnel and intelligence officials raided my family home without my knowledge or presence. If this has been carried out under your government, you owe the public an explanation. If it has not, then you have a responsibility to explain who is operating with such impunity in Sindh," Sammi posted on X.

"This follows repeated visits to our home over the past week, amounting to a sustained pattern of intimidation and harassment directed at me and my family," she added.

Expressing grave concern over the incident, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) called on the Sindh government to launch an immediate enquiry into the raid and ensure protection of Sammi and her family.

"HRCP expresses grave concern over reports that the home of rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch in Karachi was raided in her absence. Such an action, if confirmed, raises serious concerns regarding due process, privacy, and constitutional protections. We call on the Sindh government to order an immediate, independent inquiry into the incident and ensure protection and security for Ms Baloch and her family," the rights body posted on X.

Meanwhile, the BYC described the action against Sammi as part of Pakistani authorities' continuing coercive measures against its entire leadership, alleging that its members have been subjected to arrests, raids, harassment, and other forms of pressure.

"The aim of these measures is to silence those voices that have highlighted human rights violations, enforced disappearances, and state oppression in Balochistan on an international level," the BYC stated.

Furthermore, the Baloch Women Forum (BWF) said that the raid on the home of Samee and the violence and arrests of peaceful protesters in Quetta reflect the aggression of Pakistani authorities against the Baloch people.

"Samee Deen Baloch has been engaged in a peaceful, constitutional, and human rights-based struggle for the safe recovery of her father, Deen Mohammad Baloch, who was forcibly disappeared 17 years ago. Over this long period, she has been arrested multiple times, threatened, harassed, and subjected to continuous pressure, yet she has not wavered from her principled stance," it said.

"Now, once again, raiding her home without any legal warrant, terrorising the family members, ransacking the house, and taking away valuables is proof that the policy of silencing dissent through force remains firmly in place," BWF stated.

It further said that the arrests and "police violence" against the peaceful protests in Quetta against the life imprisonment sentences given to Baloch activists Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shah "reflect the reality that the state is responding to political demands not through dialogue but through the continuous use of force".

Source: IANS