The Islamabad High Court asked on Friday the federal capital police about the whereabouts of arrested Baloch protesters following a night of dramatic showdown between police and the protesters, whom the police allegedly tried to send back to Quetta in a bus.

Journalist Hamid Mir who arrived at the scene Thursday night and was involved in a heated exchange with security personnel also appeared before the court.

On Thursday, federal caretaker ministers Fawad Hasan Fawad, Murtaza Solangi, and Jamal Shah addressed a press conference in Islamabad and told reporters that the Baloch protesters arrested on Wednesday night had been released.

Shortly after the press conference, there were reports that the Islamabd Capital City police tried to send the protesters back to Quetta in a private bus they had hired. There were reports of a confrontation between the protesters and the police.

The Islamabad High Court met on Friday and sought a report on the latest development.

“Where are all the people? Inform the court about them,” IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said while hearing a petition that sought release of held protesters from the Baloch Yakjheti March on Friday.

In a post on X, the federal capital police claimed that all arrested Baloch protestors were released under their own protection.

A group of Baloch protesters arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday night after days long march from Turbat.

They were stopped on the outskirts of the city and told to go to a public park, according to the officials. However, protester and people who joined them from Islamabad pelted police with stones and tried enter the Red Zone, federal ministers told the press conference on Thursday.

Over 200 were arrested.

The petition for their release was filed by organisers of long march Simi Baloch and Abdul Salam through their lawyers Imaan Mazari and Attaullah Kundi in the high court on Thursday. It called for an early hearing of the plea.

On Friday, the court took up the plea. But it expressed its indignation over the appearance of junior police officers before the court and ordered Islamabad Inspector General of Police Akbar Nisar to appear in court in half an hour.

Attaullah Kundi, the lawyer from the arrested protesters of the Baloch Yakjheti March, informed the court about his meeting with the senior superintendent of police. “The SSP told us that we have orders of the prime minister to send them [protesters] back to Balochistan. Police forced all the women to board the buses,” he said and added that some students in Islamabad were also forced to board the bus.

According to Kundi, some of the students were later released. He told the court that the driver refused to drive after seeing that “it was fake.”

Kundi said and quoted 5am police statement that all protesters had been sent to the place of their choice.

The court asked who appeared from the police. To this, a police inspector showed up.

“Should we summon the IGP or the foreign secretary,” the court asked. “Where are all the people? Inform the court about this,” the court said and ordered that a report should be submitted to it in half an hour.

When the hearing resumed, IGP Akbar Nisar appeared in court. He informed the court that “no women were in their custody.” In response to the judge’s query, he replied that the bus was arranged for those who wanted to return.

He added that women and children were present in the I-10 area of Islamabad.

“They can go wherever they want to. They can do peaceful protest if they want,” IHC CJ Farooq said and ordered police to take the organisers of the protest and hand over the arrested protesters to them.

When the court asked about the number of people in detention, the IGP said that 216 people were arrested and 34 were in judicial custody while one was on physical remand. “19 women were released.” But he did not share where they were.

The court ordered the IGP to give in writing which women protesters were arrested.

Journalist Hamir Mir also appeared in court and said that he saw women and children dragged into the women’s police station when he visited it. He had visited the station after the government said that the protesters were released.

According to Mir, his phone was snatched and policemen misbehaved with him.

To this, the court stated that it should not happen. “Hamid Mir is a senior journalist,” the judge said and lamented such an attitude with him. The Islamabad IGP apologised to Mir during the hearing.