Pakistan: Residents stage protest against military encroachments in Mand

The residents of Mand town of Balochistan staged a protest against the forced occupation of their lands by the Pakistan military forces on Tuesday.

As reported by The Balochistan Post, the protestors included women, children and elders who are demanding the immediate evacuation of their ancestral lands that are under the control of Pakistani military forces due to “security purposes.”

The residents highlighted that the Frontier Corps (FC) covered their homes into permanent military base camps in the Meher region of Mand. The security forces took control of people’s property five years ago.

According to The Balochistan Post, the FC issued a final warning to expand their military occupation to increase the number of camps in the region. This caused residents to stage a protest until the restoration of the seized property. The residents claimed that the ongoing military encroachment was against their human rights and culture.

Women protesters in the Meher region refused to stop the demonstrations until the restoration of their lands. They appealed to the local authorities to vacate their lands but the security forces continued to resume the encroachments.

The Balochistan Post reported that the Baloch Women’s Forum, an advocacy group, condemned the military encroachments and said, “We, at the Baloch Women Forum, express concerns over the excessive use of force by Frontier Corps (FC) on residents of Maher (Mand), harassing them via various tools like seizing their homes on gunpoint, flying drone cameras on their homes, uselessly firing on their homes and using torch light on in midnight.”

The security forces used different violent measures to stop the protest. The protester expressed in anger, “If any harm comes to the families here, the responsibility will lie with the local administration”.

According to The Balochistan Post, the security forces have occupied ancestral homes as well as educational institutions. A resident said, “Our children are afraid to go to school, and female teachers feel threatened”.

The continuous occupation of lands, drone monitoring and armed patrolling have created fear and terror in the minds of residents of Baloch.