Male, Oct 3 (IANS) Pakistan government’s response to dissent has repeatedly gone far beyond maintaining public order, with protesters being assaulted, subjected to violence, and in some cases killed. The installation of large spikes on roads to prevent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from protesting further underscored the authorities’ disregard for protesters’ safety, a report has stated.
“Holding a protest is a democratic right, and people are allowed by the government of the day to express their anger and demands. However, it is not the case in Pakistan. The installation of protruding spikes on a bridge to stop the recent march by opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had left onlookers recoiling in horror,” according to a report in Maldivian media outlet Etruth MV.
The report cited Amnesty International, which voiced concerns over the Pakistan government “weaponising” laws and using deeply degrading tactics to suppress dissent.
“It showed that the rulers in Islamabad could stoop to any level to prevent or tame people’s protests. But it is not a novel case. There are several incidents involving the physically brutal and potentially life-threatening methods used by the hybrid civil-military regime against protesters. The dark, inhuman, shocking tactics used in recent years would send shockwaves of horror through the civilised world,” Etruth MV mentioned.
The report noted that ahead of the PTI’s protest march to Islamabad, organised against electoral manipulation, the erosion of judicial independence, and seeking the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Pakistan government deployed metal barricades and spike-fitted barriers on the bridge.
“Blocking the entire Islamabad by placing containers studded with nails, digging trenches across major routes, damaging the property of PTI workers, and abducting innocent children and their mothers — all out of political grudge,” Etruth MV quoted Karachi-based Uneza Kokab as saying.
Highlighting the repression in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), it said Pakistani authorities tried to choke Kashmiris by disrupting their food supplies for demanding basic rights, including a reduction in inflation and an end to privileges enjoyed by political elites.
More than 50 civilians were killed by Pakistani security forces during a crackdown, while thousands were arrested, kidnapped and tortured in the occupied territory, the report mentioned.
“The real terrorist is the government, which tries to suppress this peaceful voice through coercion and force,” said Zahid Amin, a local from Kashmir.
The report further described Balochistan as perhaps the worst-affected region in Pakistan when it comes to atrocities by the country’s security forces. In 2024, it said, Pakistan’s Frontier Corps personnel opened fire on Baloch people travelling to join a protest, killing three and injuring 14 others.
It cited Babu Ram Pant, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, as saying, “Every time Baloch protests take place, their demands are met with violence by security forces and mass arrests. We see it now again with the Baloch Raji Machi protests in what is clearly a punitive attempt by the Pakistani authorities to deter, vilify, and criminalise peaceful protesters.”
–IANS
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