President Alvi, PM Kakar ‘concerned’ over police treatment with Baloch protestors

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi and Caretaker Prime Minister (PM) Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Friday held a telephonic conversation wherein they expressed concern over the inappropriate police treatment of the Baloch protestors, ARY News reported.

Discussing the situation, the president and prime minister viewed that the police should not have dealt with the protestors strictly, a President House press release said.

Meanwhile, PM Kakar told President Alvi that the detained protestors were being released on personal bonds.

Balochistan Governor Malik Abdul Wali Khan Kakar also called on President Alvi and discussed the overall situation in Balochistan province as well as police maltreatment against the Baloch protestors.

The governor viewed that the police should show restraint towards the protestors.

In the meeting, the two sides believed that the police should not have acted beyond their limits and powers. Both leaders emphasized the measures to improve the law and order situation in Balochistan.

A day earlier, Islamabad police detained numerous Baloch protesters after using water cannons and baton charges to break the protest against enforced disappearances. Condemnations from human rights organisations and analysts poured in, castigating the “crackdown” on the Baloch protesters.

Soon after the arrests, Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court. IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq warned Islamabad IG Akbar Nasir Khan against any hindrance in the protest, saying that they have the constitutional right to demonstration.

Later, Caretaker premier Anwaarul Haq Kakar formed a three-member committee comprising federal ministers to hold talks with the families of the protesters. Following the talks, an immediate order for the release of the detained individuals was issued.

Addressing a press conference later, the caretaker government said that all women and children had been released on directions of PM Anwaarul Haq Kakar.

The ministers, who were part of the committee, also held a press conference in the federal capital, saying that the force was used to avoid a “catastrophe”.