The spokesperson of the Baloch National Movement strongly reacted to the Gwadar incident and said that the brutality of the Pakistani state against the peaceful protesters in Gwadar proves that when the oppressed Baloch demand basic rights or freedom then they are only met with bullets, tortures and enforced disappearances.
The spokesman said that Gwadar had been declared the hub of China Pakistan Corridor (CPEC) by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan with the help of the People’s Republic of China and declared it a “game changer” projects. “But the people of Balochistan, including Gwadar, are not only unhappy with these projects but are expressing their displeasure through continuous peaceful protests against the occupation of Baloch land, resources, economic resources and colonial policies of Pakistan and China in the name of development. In response to this, attempts are being made to silence the Baloch through forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings in Gwadar and Balochistan. The state is using state terrorism to pave the way for occupation”. Continuing the same strategy, Gwadar had been under siege for the last six days, and a crackdown had been going on against the political workers. More than 100 political workers had been arrested from Gwadar and Kech districts and the majority had been either transferred to other cities or forcibly disappeared. At the same time, the police in Ormara tortured and killed 19-year-old Dost Muhammad son of Shamby, who was protesting against police violence.
The spokesperson further said, “BNM strongly condemns the police violence against the peaceful protesters in Gwadar, but simultaneously believes that we must direct our struggle and national strength on the right path instead of wasting it in oblivion. Because the demands of civil rights and civil liberties without the demand for freedom push the nations towards a more abyss. All sections of the Baloch nation should consciously realise that until we get rid of national slavery, we will not be able to get out of this quagmire.’’ He further said that it was the same land where 35 years ago on February 21, 1987, Yasmin, Azgul and Ghulam Nabi had been shot dead by the police on their demand for water supply. The exact history was being repeated once again. The ongoing atrocities by Pakistan in Balochistan had turned into genocide. Those atrocities provision the position of BNM and other pro-independence parties that the Baloch nation had no future in Pakistan. “Pakistan is trying to prolong national slavery by entangling us in small demands and problems.”