QUETTA: Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, the Jamaat-i-Islami’s Balochistan emir, has announced a long march from Quetta to Islamabad on July 25, to protest against the federal government for “depriving the people of the province of their due rights”.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, he requested the people of Balochistan to join the march in large numbers to secure their rights.

He accused the federal government of “deliberately marginalising Balochistan” and held the rulers in Islamabad responsible for the province’s deepening crisis.

The JI leader demanded an immediate recovery of all missing persons, reopening of borders with neighbouring countries to allow trade, full representation for Balochistan in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the restoration of political and voting rights for the people of the province.

“Yesterday, we didn’t just offer funeral prayers for a child, Musawir Kakar, but for the very concept of justice in this state,” he said. “For 70 years, Islamabad’s rulers have tried to silence Balochistan’s people through force rather than granting them their rights.”

He criticised the central government for treating Balochistan “like a colony”.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2025