Balochistan government spokesman Shahid Rind on Saturday said that the leadership of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) was arrested for “attacking” Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence”, a day after its members in the provincial capital faced a police crackdown while protesting against alleged enforced disappearances.

On Friday, the police used tear gas and water cannon and fired blank shots to disperse BYC protesters, who had staged a sit-in on the Sariab Road near University of Balochistan, against some arrests, including its leaders.

The Balochistan government and the BYC had reported casualties on their sides as a result of each other’s actions — with the activist group claiming three dead and 13 others suffering injuries and the police saying around 10 of their personnel were hurt.

According to the Bolan Medical College Hospital officials, two bodies were brought there from the Sariab Road area. The bodies were later taken away by the heirs.

Officials at Quetta Civil Hospital Quetta said that one body and nine injured police personnel, including a female constable, were brought to the health facility.

Other sources had earlier claimed that the BYC workers had taken away three bodies with them and staged a protest sit-in at Munir Mengal Road.

Subsequently, BYC chief organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch late last night issued a call for a shutter-down strike across the province, in response to the alleged casualties resulting from the police action.

Quetta and other parts of Balochistan observed a shutter-down strike today in response to the BYC call.

The group also alleged that its leadership and Dr Mahrang were arrested.

Questioned about reports of Dr Mahrang’s arrest and what charges she was detained for during an interview on Geo News programme ‘Naya Pakistan’ today, Rind did not mention her by name but said: “BYC leadership has been arrested for attacking the Civil Hospital, inciting people to violence and other charges.”

He said the law would come into action if any common citizen faced troubles due to the BYC’s protest.

When asked about the situation in the province and BYC allegations about deaths caused by the government, Rind downplayed them as mere “claims”.

He maintained that the BYC was protesting on Friday for the bodies of the culprits of last week’s Jaffar Express train attack while the police were attempting to disperse them through water cannons and tear gas shelling.

“Around evening they claimed that three people of theirs were killed in police firing,” he added.

“The police, district administration and government had a clear stance that until you don’t hand over these bodies to the civil administration and until their medical reports don’t arrive, it’s not possible to determine as to whose firing killed them.”

He claimed that the provincial government had “sufficient evidence” available that there were armed people present among the BYC protesters.

He questioned that whether or not the government should have launched accusations of its own that firing from those armed individuals caused the deaths.

“After all that, they kept those same bodies for the protest and the state recovered those bodies after demands were made from their heirs for the bodies to be retrieved from the BYC and given to them.”

Meanwhile, sharing her statement on X, the BYC had quoted Mahrang as announcing “shutting down the entire Balochistan against […] the state violence”.

“There will be a shutter-down and wheel-jam strike in the entire Balochistan tomorrow,” the statement added. The BYC further announced staging another sit-in at Quetta’s Sariab Road with bodies of the alleged casualties from yesterday.

Later in the day, the BYC shared purported pictures of closed shops and roads in Chagai District’s Dalbandin city, as well as Khuzdar, Washuk, and Surab districts.

It also posted purported visuals of protests held in Mastung, Dera Murad Jamali and Turbat, where demonstrators burned tyres to block roads.

A complete shutter-down strike and wheel jam were also observed in Turbat, with the BYC staging a rally and sit-in at Shaheed Fida Chowk.

In the Malikabad area of Turbat, unidentified men on motorcycles fired gunshots at the protesters, who were monitoring the strike, injuring two children. They were rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.

The other areas of the province that were also shut down in response to the call included Panjgur, Gwadar, Nushki, Kharan, Kalat, Mastung and Khuzdar.

According to a Dawn.com correspondent in Quetta, mobile services have been suspended in Quetta since Friday night while data services had been down since Thursday.

However, no notification officially announcing the suspension has been issued yet.

Mahrang, others arrested: BYC

After Mahrang’s strike call, the BYC said she and other protesters had been arrested earlier today from the Quetta sit-in while the alleged bodies were “seized”.

“Today, at 5:30am, security forces carried out a brutal pre-dawn raid on the sit-in. Baloch women, children, and peaceful protesters were subjected to extreme violence,” the BYC said on X.

“The authorities forcibly seized the dead bodies that protesters had planned to offer funeral prayers for today. BYC organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch, along with many others, was dragged and arrested,” it claimed.

The organisation also shared a night-time video showing police personnel wielding batons and dragging some women. Another video showed dozens of policemen gathered on a road.

The protesters staging the Sariab Road sit-in were demanding the “release of its central committee member Bebarg Baloch, his brother Hammal, Dr Ilyas, and others who has been forcibly disappeared, as well as the release of Baloch woman Saeeda and several others”, the BYC recalled.

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor said on X she was “very concerned” about the reported arrests of Dr Mahrang and others.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said it “strongly urges the state to avoid taking excessive steps to curb dissent”.

It added that the arrests of BYC leaders and the reported suspension of connectivity in Quetta were “knee-jerk reactions that will exacerbate the frustrations of ordinary people”.

“All political parties, including those with legitimate support in Balochistan, must take the lead and engage with all stakeholders in the province, including civil society and academia, to resolve the province’s long-standing crisis. The Balochistan government must immediately release Mahrang Baloch and other BYC leaders and workers and initiate an urgent dialogue.”

Front Line Defenders, an Irish organisation advocating and working for the protection of human rights, also condemned the alleged arrest and called for Mahrang’s immediate release.

Balochistan National Party-Mengal chief Akhtar Mengal said: “Dr Mahrang Baloch has been arrested for simply speaking the truth. The truth about pain loss and injustice that has been ignored for years. She stood peacefully, bravely, with nothing but the voice of her people, and for that, she was silenced.

“The BYC activists raised no weapons, only words and yet they were treated like criminals. Is this really how you want to solve problems? By arresting those who speak by punishing those who ask for rights? If this is your idea of justice, then good luck to you. But remember, no matter how many you silence, the truth will keep rising. We demand the immediate release of Dr Mahrang Baloch and all BYC activists.”

Michael Kugelman, a scholar of South Asian affairs at the Wilson Centre in Washington, said Dr Mahrang’s arrest would “only produce more anger and resistance”, terming it a “misguided move and bound to backfire”.

He added that due to her international renown, “her arrest will likely receive international attention, which won’t help the global image of Pakistan that its leaders are keen to soften.”

In a statement issued by the BYC, it has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Dr Mahrang, Bebarg and the other arrested members.

The group has also sought the registration of a first information report (FIR) against the Balochistan chief minister and the IGP for the “indiscriminate firing” that resulted in dozens of injuries and the “martyrdom of three individuals” as well as their dismissal from their posts.

The BYC also demanded that the Quetta commissioner and his deputy should be dismissed immediately too.

It further sought that the series of “retaliatory actions against Baloch political activists” must be stopped immediately, and all false cases should be dropped.

Balochistan Bar Council, PTI condemn ‘brutal use of force’

Separately, the Balochistan Bar Council and the PTI condemned the police action against the protesters.

In a statement, the bar council announced a boycott of court proceedings across the province in protest of yesterday’s incident.

It demanded that the arrested “women, children and students” be released immediately and that “individuals who had gone missing from Sariab be brought before the public”. It further called on the Balochistan government to bear the expenses of the injured people’s medical treatment.

Reiterating the BYC’s claims on the casualties, the bar council termed the crackdown as “anxiousness” displayed by the provincial government. It condemned the “worst violence, violation of human rights and unconstitutional measures”.

The bar added: “The incompetent provincial government of the PPP has set the worst example of dictatorship by using coercion and power to extend its rule.”

It asserted that the Balochistan government had “completely failed to protect the lives and properties” of the province’s people.

The PTI also strongly condemned the “excessive and brutal use of force against the peaceful protesters” while highlighting the reported casualties.

“The oppressive regime has once again crossed all boundaries of brutality in its desperate attempt to cling to power, even at the cost of national unity and integrity,” a statement by PTI’s Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram said.

It demanded “immediate accountability for those responsible for the killing and injuring of peaceful demonstrators” and that all missing persons be presented before a court of law.

“If any individual is found guilty, they should be dealt with in accordance with legal procedures. However, enforced disappearances are inhumane, unlawful, and a blatant violation of human rights. This abhorrent practice must be brought to an immediate end,” the PTI asserted.

The opposition party urged the government to heed the “legitimate demands of the BYC protesters and take immediate steps to address their genuine grievances”.

“Such coercive and oppressive measures will not serve the interests of those unlawfully clinging to power; instead, they will only exacerbate the already volatile situation,” it said, adding it stood with the people of Balochistan.