In a fresh development, Chaman sit-in protestors, who were arrested on June 6 are being severely tortured by Pakistan’s paramilitary force, the Frontier Corps (FC), in detention. Reports indicate that the detained individuals were kept handcuffed for days and their eyes were covered.
The arrested protestors were detained on June 6 when the Pak Army’s Frontier Corps (FC) opened fire on peaceful demonstrators in Chaman, escalating tensions and transforming the protest against mandatory passports into a broader struggle against oppressive tactics employed by the Pakistani establishment.
Chaman protest
Notably, lakhs of Pashtuns have been protesting on the Chaman border for over eight months. They are protesting against the Pakistani establishment’s imposed one-document regime under which the previously functional Tazkira system has been abolished, making passports mandatory for trade across the Durand Line.
Being the most important crossing on the Durand Line, this Pak-occupied Balochistan crossing has been crucial for local traders who were earlier allowed to cross the border with Tazkira (a paper slip permission). Additionally, there are familial ties between the local communities on both sides of the border. The new one-document regime is disruptive to these familial ties.
Unfortunately, no measures were taken to address these delicate issues. Moreover, a large section of the Pakistan-controlled media has neglected this massive protest for an extended period, seemingly waiting for it to die down. Seeing that not happening, the Pak Army and its FC forces have launched a crackdown on peaceful Pashtun protestors twice. On June 6, they not only killed many Pashtuns but also arrested and disappeared dozens.
The latest reports of torture are a further gruesome act by the Pak Army. It is surprising that a self-proclaimed top military force, which boasts of being a nuclear power but has lost all the wars it has fought, is only effective in torturing the people it controls.