Internet services shut down in Balochistan amid ongoing protest over enforced disappearances

Residents in Balochistan's Zehri and Surab regions are facing a severe humanitarian crisis due to a four-day curfew and military operations. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee reported acute food shortages, blocked healthcare access, and alleged house raids by security forces, urging international bodies to investigate these fundamental rights violations.

A curfew imposed in the Zehri area of Balochistan's Khuzdar district entered its fourth consecutive day, severely disrupting daily life, mobility and economic activity in the region. Residents said the continued restrictions have forced markets, transport services and commercial centres to remain closed, effectively paralysing normal activity.

The exhibition displayed a series of photographs and visual documentation portraying the hardships faced by religious and ethnic minorities, including Hindus, Christians, Sindhis, and Balochs, it also highlighted the constant oppression in Balochistan through enforced disappearances of young individuals, including both men and women, as well as forced conversions of minorities in Pakistan and arrests of several political leaders including Dr Mahrang Baloch. The exhibition aimed to draw international attention to what they described as systemic discrimination and political repression affecting these communities. It also displayed photographs of the grim condition of minorities in Bangladesh,

Pakistani security forces reportedly conducted raids across Balochistan's Surab, Gwadar, and Turbat districts, leading to allegations of property damage and civilian mistreatment. Locals and the Baloch Yakjehti Committee claimed authorities destroyed homes and fuel stocks, severely impacting livelihoods during Ramadan, while night raids in Turbat sparked further human rights concerns.

An Anti-Terrorism Court in Quetta has declared 12 Baloch activists, including Sabiha Baloch, as proclaimed offenders. Charged under strict anti-terror laws, activists argue these legal actions are a systemic attempt by Pakistan to intimidate and silence voices protesting human rights violations and enforced disappearances in Balochistan.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed the Rajya Sabha on the escalating West Asia crisis following US-Israeli strikes on Iran that triggered wider regional conflict. India urged restraint, emphasised dialogue and diplomacy for de-escalation, and confirmed that the Cabinet Committee on Security is monitoring the situation and addressing concerns of Indians in the region.

In a post on X, Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, member of the UAE Federal National Council and Chairman of the Defense Affairs, Interior & Foreign Affairs Committee, slammed the reports as "fake news", stating that the country has the "courage" to announce such actions if it had carried them out.

A high-level committee submitted a 1,000-page report to Nepal's interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki regarding the Bhadra incidents. The panel blamed "poor governance" and "political power-sharing" for the unrest, recommending "action against those found responsible" and systemic reforms to prevent future occurrences.

Three young men were shot dead in Balochistan's Panjgur district, allegedly by state-backed "death squads." The Baloch Yakjehti Committee condemned the killings alongside recent attacks on intellectuals and artists, urging the UN to investigate these escalating human rights violations and targeted violence across the province.

Harsha de Silva, MP, Chair of the Committee on Public Finance of the Parliament in Sri Lanka, while talking to ANI, said regional neighbours have traditionally viewed the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace and connectivity and torpedoing of a warship is seen as a dangerous escalation that brings the West Asian conflict directly into South Asian waters.