Sammi Deen Baloch, a leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), and four others have been detained for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO). 

The detentions follow a BYC protest in Karachi on Monday against the arrest of BYC leaders, including Dr Mahrang Baloch, and a crackdown on a sit-in in Quetta.

Police detained Sammi and others for violating Section 144, which prohibits public gatherings.  The Sindh government’s home department issued an order citing concerns that the detainees were instigating public disruption and posing a threat to public safety and peace. 

The order stated that the Sindh Inspector General of Police recommended the 30-day detention. The five detainees are being held at the Central Prison Karachi. Other protestors booked under the MPO include Razzak Ali, Abdul Wahab Baloch, Shehzad Rab and Sultan Hamal.

The MPO order said that the arrested activists can pose ‘grave threat to the public safety and can cause breach of peace and tranquility’.

The initial protest in Karachi, held at Fawara Chowk, involved an attempt to enter the Red Zone, prompting police intervention, according to an FIR filed on the complaint of a policeman. Section 144 had been imposed beforehand, leading to road closures and significant traffic congestion.

Simultaneously, counter-protests took place, with participants criticizing the BYC and the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The organization of these counter-protests occurred despite the Section 144 restrictions.  One counter-protest, near the Karachi Press Club, linked the BYC and BLA to India’s intelligence agency, RAW.  Another demonstration near Zainab Market portrayed the two groups as “two sides of the same coin.” A third demonstration showed solidarity with the armed forces, Dawn reported.

Meanwhile, Balochistan High Court has asked the advocate general to submit a response on a complaint filed against Mahrang Baloch’s arrest within one week. The court has also allowed Mahrang’s family to meet her in prison.