Pakistan: Rights body condemns crackdown on protesting government employees in Quetta

Quetta: Human rights body Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) condemned the violence against government employees in Balochistan’s capital Quetta, stating that the incident exposed the oppressive face of the Pakistani authorities. The rights body alleged that the crackdown against protesting government employees in Quetta demonstrated the state’s preference for force, coercion, and violence over dialogue and democratic processes in addressing public grievances.

This approach, it said, is not only authoritarian but also a direct assault on the fundamental rights of the people. The remarks followed the arrest of dozens of government employees in Quetta on Tuesday after police blocked a planned sit-in in the city’s Red Zone, where workers had assembled to press home the implementation of the Disparity Reduction Allowance. “We strongly and unequivocally condemn this oppressive and dictatorial conduct of the state, under which peaceful protests, constitutional rights, and democratic voices are being systematically crushed through organised force.

This style of governance does not represent public representation but rather reflects a policy of imposing tyranny and fear,” read a statement issued by the BYC. The rights body asserted that amid economic exploitation, the demand for salaries and entitlements by government employees is not a crime but an inalienable fundamental right. It strongly criticised the lathi charges against peaceful demonstrators, unjust arrests, and organised harassment, calling them a “blatant insult to the spirit of the constitution, democratic values, and human dignity”.

Such actions, it said, reflect an intensification of the already existing oppression and atrocities in Balochistan by the Pakistani authorities. “Making democratic and public spaces like the Press Club unsafe for dissent proves that the state seeks to maintain control through fear and violence. This conduct can neither bring stability nor public satisfaction; rather, it exacerbates the crisis,” the BYC stated.

The BYC demanded that all arrested protesting employees be immediately and unconditionally released, the legitimate and legal demands of government employees be acknowledged, and the policy of using force be abandoned in favour of serious, meaningful, and empowered negotiations. Balochistan has been reeling from protests by public sector employees, with several human rights organisations raising concerns over a brutal crackdown by Pakistani authorities during the demonstrations.