QUETTA, Dec 12: Youths and children of the Marri tribe and activists of the Baloch Students Organisation on Wednesday held separate demonstrations on Wednesday to condemn the arrest of Hyrbyair Marri and Faiz Baloch by the British police and said that the British government should differentiate between a freedom fighter and a terrorist.

The demonstrators, who assembled outside the Quetta Press Club, held placards with slogans condemning the arrest.

They demanded that the British government should not hand over the two nationalist leaders to the government of Pakistan.

The demonstrators also raised slogans in favour of Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Nawabzada Balach Marri.

Saleem Marri, a spokesman for the Marri youths, said that Hyrbyair Marri was struggling against what he called the oppression unleashed by security forces against the Baloch people who were struggling for their political and national rights. He said the Baloch leaders were in London to promote the political cause of the Baloch people and to expose the ‘excesses’ of security forces.

He said the two leaders were ‘freedom fighters’ who were not involved in terrorist activities.

He said personnel of the security forces were using modern weapons to suppress the Baloch resistance movement but they had failed.

Addressing the BSO demonstrators, Shahzeb Baloch said the two leaders had not attacked any country and were not involved in terrorist activities.