QUETTA: The provincial administration of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan on Saturday warned of strict action after a Baloch nationalist party announced to march to Quetta to pressure authorities for the release of activists from an ethnic rights group.
The Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) led by Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Friday announced the march toward the provincial capital after holding two inconclusive rounds of talks with officials, demanding the release of detained ethnic rights activists.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s (BYC) top leader, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, and several of her colleagues were arrested on March 22 after staging a sit-in outside the University of Balochistan.
Pakistani authorities charged them with terrorism, sedition and murder following a protest in which three demonstrators were killed, according to police documents.
Mengal decided to launch a protest after objecting to the government’s treatment of female BYC leaders, calling for their immediate release and condemning what he described as the suppression of their democratic rights.
“The provincial government is ready to allow Mengal and his party to protest at Sariab Road [in Quetta], but he is adamant on entering the Red Zone,” Shahid Rind, the Balochistan administration’s spokesperson, said at a news conference, referring to a high-security area housing key government buildings.
“The Government of Balochistan will not allow anyone to violate Section 144, and action will be taken against the protesters,” he added, citing the legal provision that empowers authorities to ban public gatherings of more than four people to maintain law and order.
Rind said Mengal had demanded the release of BYC activists at the very start of the negotiations.
“If the courts provide relief to Mahrang Baloch and other activists, the government will accept the decision,” he continued while explaining the authorities’ position over the issue during the talks.
“We still stand by the offers made to Sardar Mengal,” he added. “But now the ball is in his court.”
During the media interaction, Rind said anti-state speeches had been made during Mengal’s protest, and the government would take legal action against those responsible.
His comments came a day after Pakistan’s top army generals met to review the national security situation and pledged not to let “foreign-backed proxies” and their “political supporters” destabilize Balochistan.
Authorities have long claimed a nexus between Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) militants and BYC activists, an allegation the latter deny.
The crackdown on BYC leaders followed a deadly train attack last month in Balochistan, in which BLA separatists took hundreds of passengers hostage. The standoff lasted nearly 36 hours until the army launched a rescue operation, killing 33 militants.
A final count showed 26 passengers had also died in the incident.
Authorities later accused BYC activists of storming a mortuary in Quetta and seizing the bodies of three militants.
Asked about reports of government negotiations with BYC chief Dr. Mahrang Baloch in prison, Rind said the provincial administration was not engaged in any such dialogue.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday lauded the successful implementation of Pakistan’s Ramadan Relief Package 2025, praising the transparent use of digital wallets for fund distribution and instructing officials to adopt the model for future government programs, state media reported.
The premier made the comments during a meeting in Islamabad to review the execution of the nationwide relief scheme, which aimed to provide financial support during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The package, rolled out across the country including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, utilized digital tools to deliver assistance to beneficiaries and was promoted as a step toward the country’s broader digital transformation agenda.
Under the initiative, aid was transferred directly into recipients’ digital wallets — secure mobile accounts linked to national ID numbers — allowing beneficiaries to access funds via mobile apps, ATMs or designated agents without needing a traditional bank account.
“Appreciating the effective and transparent implementation of the Ramazan Relief Package 2025, [the prime minister] directed the authorities concerned to emulate this model in future government schemes,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency reported the PM Office as saying.
It said 1.9 million digital payments were made and over 951,000 digital wallets used, marking what officials described as a significant move toward realizing the “Digital Nation Pakistan” vision.
More than 823,000 women and over 2,500 persons with disabilities accessed the funds through digital platforms, APP added.
Authorities said 79 percent of the allocated funds had been disbursed, with a team of 2,224 employees resolving over 1,200 complaints during the scheme’s implementation.
Millions of robocalls, SMS alerts and outbound calls were also made to raise awareness, the report added.