Baloch activists highlight Pakistani atrocities

Geneva (Switzerland), Mar 11 (ANI) Baloch activists on Monday highlighted how the Pakistan Army and its proxy terror groups indulge in brutalities against the people of Balochistan who are seeking freedom and urged the international community to intervene.
The Baloch activists articulated their woes at a conference titled “Balochistan of Pakistan – The Human Cost”, organized by Baloch Human Rights Council (UK) at a tent at Broken Chair, in front of the UNHRC, to coincide with the ongoing 40th session of UN Human Rights Council here.
 
A hashtag #Balochgenocide was also launched during the event. 
The speakers, including a Member of European Parliament, and Baloch human rights activists demanded an end to State and non-State atrocities on the Baloch people.   
They highlighted the plight of the people of Balochistan in the face of brutalities being perpetrated against them by the Pakistani security forces over the last many decades. 
They urged the UN Secretary General to exert pressure on Pakistani authorities to end the inhumane treatment and enforced disappearances of the Baloch social, political and literary figures and to abandon it “kill and dump” policy in Balochistan.   
Karima Baloch, a woman human rights activist from Balochistan, said, “We have an ethic issue of Baloch freedom. But, today we want to make the world aware about human rights issues in Balochistan."
She said that in Balochistan, thousands of people are missing and their houses are being destroyed in bombardments. "Many missing persons are being killed and their mutilated bodies are recovered. Many Baloch are still missing for many years.” 
She added, “In Quetta, a camp outside Press Club is ongoing for the past many years to raise the issue of missing persons, but no action has been taken by the concerned authorities”. 
Taj Baloch, Head of Human Rights Council of Balochistan said, “The human rights situation in Balochistan is getting worse since 2012. Earlier, it was only enforced disappearance which is already a crime, and then the extra-judicial killings. Now, they have started burning villages and expelling the entire population without any compensation.
He said the kids and women are dying without food and medical care.
"We just want to raise the issue that the world shall speak against it and investigate whatever is going on in Balochistan," Taj Baloch said.
Zafar Baloch, a human rights activist said, “The people of Balochistan should have political rights. People of Balochistan should be in a politically powerful position to decide about their own future, their land, their natural resources, development and social uplift of the society. Baloch people are secular and they want terrorist outfits like LeJ (Lashkar-e-Jhangvi), LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba), JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammad) should be completely driven out of Balochistan”. 
He added, “Pakistan Army is using these terrorist outfits not only against its neighbours but against its own citizens in Balochistan. These terror outfits along with Pakistan security forces are inolved in abduction of political activists. They are involved in the torture and targeted killing”.  
A declaration adopted at the conference of mostly Baloch activists and some others expressed deep concern at the silent complicity of the international community at the grave violations of human rights in Balochistan and demanded that international human rights organizations should step up their efforts against the brutalities of the Pakistani military establishment. 
The Baloch political activists expressed concern over the fact that despite belonging to one of the richest lands in the world, the people of Balochistan are among the poorest of the poor. This is because of the ruthless exploitation of their resources by Pakistan state, they said. 
The activists later organized a protest against Pakistan Army and demand an early intervention by the United Nations to stop genocide of Baloch people. The Baloch were joined in solidarity by Sindhi, Pashtun and Kashmiri activists, who raised slogans against the Pakistan Army and the ISI. (ANI)