Naveed Ahmad Khan
ISLAMABAD : Author and journalist Mohammad Hanif returned his “Sitara e Imtiaz” award on Saturday in protest against government’s crackdown on participants of the Balochistan march, which was conducted against enforced disappearance of their family members.
Hanif made the announcement in a post shared on social media platform X. “In protest, returning my Sitara e Imtiaz, given to me by a state that continues to abduct and torture Baloch citizens,” he wrote.
“Journalists of my generation have seen @SammiBaluch and @MahrangBaloch_ grow up in protest camps. Ashamed to witness a new generation being denied basic dignity,” he added.
A women-led march from Turbat, initiated on Dec 6 following the alleged extrajudicial killing of a Baloch youth, reached Islamabad earlier this week. However, the capital police blocked entrances to the city and major routes leading to the National Press Club.
Later, the police started detaining Baloch men and women in an action against them. Videos shared on social media showed security forces using water cannons and tear gas on the protesters, forcibly dragging Baloch individuals into police vans, and using batons against them.
Furthermore, the police dismantled protest camps and loudspeaker setups outside the National Press Club.
The actions drew massive criticism forcing the caretaker government to form a negotiation team comprising Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, Fawad Hasan Fawad, and Jamal Shah to engage with the protesters’ families.
Later, the interim government announced that all women and children detained during the police crackdown on Baloch protesters had been released.
However, Baloch sit-in continues in the capital city as they are now demanding the release of all detainees.