It seems all of Pakistan is engulfed in protests and disaffection even as former prime minister Imran Khan grabs the eyeballs. The last two days, Pashtuns and the Baloch people gathered in massive numbers to voice their dissatisfaction against the Pakistan government.
The Baloch people rally in Gwadar asking for safe release of #Maulanhidayathurehman and of the other Baloch people from Pakistani detention centres. #bbc, #Aljazeera, #Pakistan,#Balochistan pic.twitter.com/MDd6BqNkfd
— Munir Mengal (@MMengal) March 20, 2023
Gwadar, the port city on Pakistan’s south-western coast, being developed by China under the mega Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a multi-use port saw tens of thousands of women take out a protest march against the government over the incarcerated Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman today and on Sunday. The women protested against what they called the “illegal arrest” of Rehman–the architect of the Gwadar ko Haq Do (Give rights to Gwadar) movement.
The conflict-ridden province of Balochistan witnessed mass protests by the Baloch community in Gwadar in south Pakistan while the estranged Pashtuns held a rally in Loralai in the north. The massive protests by Pakistan’s estranged communities were completely ignored by the mainstream media.
کیا پاکستان کے حاکم گوادر کی بیٹیوں کو دیکھ اور سن رہے ہیں جو ہدایت الرحمان بلوچ کی رہائی کیلئے حیرت انگیز تعداد میں سڑکوں پہ نکل پڑیں ؟ @MHidayatRehman pic.twitter.com/Dd8btJYrjG
— Faizullah Khan فیض (@FaizullahSwati) March 19, 2023
The women shouted slogans against the Pakistani government and marched through Gwadar roads demanding the release of Rehman. JI politicians Mushtaq Ahmed, Hussain Wadela, former Balochistan caretaker minister, Mir Naveed Kalmati and other leaders joined the protests.
Rehman, a popular figure with the local Baloch populace, joined the Baloch struggle in 2021 when he erected the mass movement for basic rights like water, electricity, livelihoods, ease of movement as well as a ban on the movement of drugs and alcohol. His movement spread on the strength of women and students in October 2021, who staged sit-ins in Gwadar city and blocked main roads. With the surge in the movement, which spread to other towns on the Makran coast, the government eventually signed an agreement in December 2021 to fulfil local demands.
گوادر میں عوامی حقوق کی جدوجہد اور جائز مطالبات کرنے کی پاداش میں مولانا ہدایت الرحمن کی ناجائز گرفتاری کے خلاف ہزاروں خواتین کی احتجاجی ریلی ۔ pic.twitter.com/MctDdyf22X
— Jamaat-e-Islami Women (@JamaatWomen) March 19, 2023
However, with the government unable to provide development or succor to the local Baloch people, they re-started their protest in 2022. This time, the police arrested Rehman on January 13 as violence broke out during the protests. One person died and property was damaged in the demonstrations in Gwadar. The government also banned communications and the internet besides imposing Section-144.
#PashtunLongMarch2Loralai
د سنګه آزادی دا
پشتون پکی قتلیږی
دا سنګه آزادی دا
پشتون پکی لوټ کیږی
دا سنګه آزادی دا pic.twitter.com/eyoFLnvxjc— Laiba Yousafzai لایبه ایسفزیی (@yousafzailaiba3) March 19, 2023
Northern Balochistan saw a rally of another kind in Loralai – one where Pashtuns bravely waved the Afghan flag in the heart of Pakistan and criticised the Pakistani army for foisting terrorism on the Pashtuns.
The rally brought thousands of tribesmen from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as Balochistan to Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Ali Wazir’s event. They were demanding an end to violence and terrorism in their areas, for which they hold the Pakistani army responsible. Masses had begun to converge on Loralai on Saturday – one day before the event.
“We have to determine who has ruined us. Some friends said it’s Lahore, but it’s not Lahore. It’s GHQ, it’s GHQ that has ruined us.” Manzoor Pashteen
— Nazrana G Yousufzai 🦋 (@Nazranausufzai) March 19, 2023
Pashtun leader Wazir, who was released in February after spending over two years in jail, was given a hero’s welcome by the Pashtun people. Addressing the rally in Loralai, he said that Pashtuns deserve to live in peace and in dignity. People at the rally demanded an end to unrest in the region and an “end to State terrorism”, targeted killings, enforced disappearances as well as discrimination against the Pashtuns.
#PashtunLongMarch2Loralai
پنجاپړت جرنيلانو د خولی به ماتوو انشاالله زر pic.twitter.com/JpSvLbovDN— Laiba Yousafzai لایبه ایسفزیی (@yousafzailaiba3) March 19, 2023
For almost a decade now, the PTM has been demanding an end to the famous “War on Terror” that has brought killings to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The Pashtuns also want an end to Pakistani army operations that have only brought internal displacement and poverty to the region. Like the Baloch, the Pashtuns too believe that they have been given a raw deal by Pakistan.
With Imran Khan taking away global attention, the two big rallies held by Pakistan’s alienated ethnic communities the Baloch and the Pashtuns were completely overlooked by the Pakistani media.
Also read: Pashtuns in Balochistan in revolt against Islamabad as ethnic nationalism in Pakistan soars
