<\/p>\n
ISLAMABAD: Sensing an impending police action against their protest camp set up outside the National Press Club, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders have said their \u201cpeaceful\u201d demonstration is only to seek information about the whereabouts of their loved ones who have gone missing.<\/p>\n
After they expressed concern over the persistent harassment of the protesters at a press conference on Monday, an application by the National Press Club (NPC) seeking police intervention to relocate the camp went viral on social media. The NPC\u2019s request for action against protesters was later withdrawn following severe criticism<\/a> from all quarters, including journalists.<\/p>\n Addressing the press conference, Dr Mahrang Baloch, one of the protest leaders, said demonstrators were \u201cunder severe pressure to vacate the camp\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are being harassed and threatened, with police circulating false information and journalists being stopped from visiting us. We are told there is a possible threat around the press club area,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n National Press Club submits, then withdraws request for relocation of protesters\u2019 camp<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ms Baloch complained that a propaganda campaign had been ongoing for the past two months, and neither the establishment nor any other state entity bothered to listen to their demands.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we see now is a shrinking space to talk about our woes,\u201d she said and lamented that the media is apparently under pressure, and their protest is not getting any coverage on the mainstream news channels.<\/p>\n She complained that authorities are \u201cprofiling male protesters\u201d and expressed fear of possible retribution later.<\/p>\n Flanked by human rights activists Farhatullah Babar and Afrasiyab Khattak, Dr Baloch said women, children and the elderly were at the camp, enduring the harsh winter of Islamabad.<\/p>\n With visible signs of fatigue and sickness among some participants, she was asked if the BYC was considering calling off the protest for now.<\/p>\n Dr Baloch replied that the next course of action would be announced on Tuesday (today).<\/p>\n \u201cWe are here for a just cause \u2014 the state wants to crush us, but things cannot go on like this forever. We will continue to knock on all doors and approach the international bodies to seek redressal of our grievances. \u201cWe appeal to the courts and all those who have a voice to condemn the state repression of our people in Balochistan and Islamabad,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \n