Activist Sammi Deen Baloch accuses Pakistan of targeting Baloch mothers

Baloch activist Sammi Deen Baloch has accused Pakistani authorities of targeting and intimidating mothers of activists who raise their voices against enforced disappearances and alleged oppression in Balochistan. In a post shared on social media platform X on International Mother's Day, Sammi Deen recalled an incident outside the Karachi Press Club where police reportedly attempted to detain her mother. According to Sammi, when officers were asked about her mother's "crime," they replied, "Her crime is that she is Sammi Deen's mother. Her crime is that she doesn't know how to silence her daughter."

Calling Baloch mothers symbols of resistance, Sammi wrote, "Baloch mothers are criminals, then they deserve to be punished. Because they have given birth to such daughters who speak out, who ask questions, who raise their voices, who don't know how to stay silent." She alleged that despite arrests, intimidation and state pressure, these women continue to stand beside their children and refuse to surrender to fear. Sammi Deen further stated that many Baloch mothers continue to protest outside prisons, courts and on the streets while carrying photographs of their disappeared sons and daughters. Referring to the struggles faced by families of missing persons, she wrote, "Sometimes of mutilated bodies, sometimes of mass graves. Yet they have never feared, never tired."

Describing them as "revolutionary mothers," Sammi said these women have transformed from symbols of silence into symbols of resistance. Recalling her mother's reaction to the alleged police threat, she quoted her as saying, "I'm ready to go to prison ten times for my daughter, and you're trying to scare me with arrest?" Marking International Mother's Day, Sammi Deen paid tribute to oppressed mothers across the world, particularly in Balochistan, saying they continue to remain steadfast despite years of suffering, fear and uncertainty. The issue of enforced disappearances and human rights violations in Balochistan has long been raised by activists and rights groups, while Pakistani authorities have repeatedly denied allegations of systematic abuses. (ANI)

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