Human rights defenders from Baloch, Sindhis and other communities living in the UK paid tribute to Sardar Attaullah Mengal who was one of the prominent faces of Baloch national struggle after Pakistan annexed the region in 1948.
The commemoration was organised by the Sindhi Baloch Forum (SBF) in London on Sunday, in which speakers highlighted various aspects of the political and nationalistic struggle of late Sardar Mengal, Beloch Affairs reported.
Sardar Mengal had devoted his life to the service of the Baloch people. He fought for a future where the Baloch people can live with dignity and with their cherished socio-cultural values against the atrocities of Islamabad.
Earlier, a photo exhibition was also organised at Broken Chair, a famous icon in front of the United Nations office in Geneva, highlighting the atrocities and the human rights abuses in Balochistan.
It highlighted the genocide of the indigenous Baloch people being carried out by Pakistan. It also highlighted how Pakistan had illegally occupied Balochistan against all International laws and treaties and continues to misgovern it till date. The region lags behind in almost every parameter of development.
Today Balochistan's Human Development Index (HDI) ranks below 0.40 as compared to the other provinces of Pakistan that lie above 0.50. Within Pakistan, Balochistan lags far behind other provinces and 15 out of Pakistan's least-developed districts are in Balochistan.
Meanwhile, enforced disappearances and arbitrary killings of Balochs have also become a new 'normal in the region'.
On September 13, hundreds of people also took to the streets in protest against such killings in Panjgur district in Balochistan province, local media reported.
A large number of people, including women and children, gathered at the main chowk of the town. They marched on the streets and roads and chanted slogans against the local administration and police for their failure to arrest alleged killers, reported Dawn.
During the protest, people said about a dozen innocent civilians had been killed in Panjgur in a month, but not a single alleged killer had been arrested.
( With inputs from ANI )
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