ISLAMABAD: Author and journalist Mohammed Hanif Saturday announced returning of Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the third-highest civilian award of Pakistan, back to the state in protest over the violence meted out to Baloch marchers.
Reacting to a video of a Baloch girl pleading with the authorities for the “right to live”, Hanif lambasted the authorities for mistreatment of the Baloch protesters saying he was ashamed to witness a new generation being denied basic dignity.
“In protest, returning my Sitara e Imtiaz, given to me by a state that continues to abduct and torture Baloch citizens. Journalists of my generation have seen @SammiBaluch and @MahrangBaloch_ grow up in protest camps. Ashamed to witness a new generation being denied basic dignity,” Hanif wrote on his X account.
Hanif — a journalist, novelist, and playwright known for his famous work “A Case of Exploding Mangoes” — was honoured with the third-highest civilian award in Pakistan back in 2018.
His remarks come after marchers — led by women — protesting against enforced disappearances of Baloch men, under the banner of Baloch Yakjehti Council (BYC), reached Islamabad on Wednesday, and were subsequently subjected to baton charges and mass arrests by the Islamabad Police.
The crackdown triggered widespread condemnations from human rights bodies and political parties — notably the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamat-e-Islami (JI) — which was followed by the government’s clarification that the force was used to avoid a “catastrophe”.
