SINCE November 23, there have been many in Balochistan who have been protesting against the extrajudicial killing of 24-year-old Baalach Mola Bakhsh, taken from Turbat on October 29. He was later presented before a court, and was killed in an alleged encounter. Since then, Balaach`s family and the Baloch Yakjehti Committee have been on strike, demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits.

They are also demanding an end to enforced disappearances,extrajudicial killings, and the elimination of private militias. Initially, the protest continued in Turbat along with Balaach`s body, but the government did not pay attention to the demands. Moving to Quetta in a rally, the protesters remained unheard, and the government responded harshly by arresting, filing fabricated cases, and rendering 44 government employees unemployed for taking part in the protest march.

After the disappointment with the provincial government, the protesters moved to Islamabad where they were baton-charged, and 290 of them, including myself, were arrested. The police attempted to remove us from the federal territory, but the Islamabad High Court intervened.

There was no change at all in the state`s behaviour, however, and the government actually called the protesters terrorist sympathisers. Even some journalists have been busy in running a malicious campaign against the missing persons.

In another move, a former caretaker provincial minister, along with about a dozen unknown men, set up a camp in Islamabad, supposedly protesting against the worsening security issues in Balochistan. This camp has receivedwidespread media attention acorss the country just to undermine the issue of missing persons.

Lest it be misunderstood, the families of missing persons are not responsible for the prevailing unrest in the province of Balochistan, nor are they fighting a war of narratives. The state should understand the peacefulstruggle ofthe people for the release of their loved ones.

The government is attempting hard to undermine the struggle through staged rallies and media talks. Instead of resolving the critical issue of enforced disappearances, the government has been tryingto divert attentionby organising sit-ins through individuals who are closely connected to the state machinery one way or the other.

If the state gets serious about resolving the primary issue, which is the release of missing persons, it will not have to waste resources and energy by building a new narrative.

On their part, the protesters are not interested in living on the roads with their elderly parents and young children in freezing temperatures.

As for those attempting to counter the sit-in and complaining about violence and security in Balochistan, they should direct these questionsto the state and its agencies;not to the protesters who happen to be the victims, and not stakeholders or a part of the government.

DrMahrangBaloch Islamabad