Geneva: Baloch activists at UNHRC highlight "crimes against humanity" committed by Pakistan

Geneva [Switzerland], March 29 : Senior Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC), leaders, human rights activists, and press personnel highlighted the severe deterioration of human rights situation in Balochistan and the atrocities inflicted by the Pakistani administration upon the Baloch community.

The activists had participated at a side event organised on the sidelines of the ongoing 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council at Geneva, Switzerland.

Speaking to ANI, BHRC General Secretary Qambar Malik Baloch said, "We intended to bring together various representatives of various oppressed communities in Pakistan. We heard their experiences and sufferings as the Pakistani authorities violate human rights laws. Despite international attention and condemnation, Pakistan continues to violate the rights of the oppressed communities under its control with impunity and no accountability."

"Additionally, there has been an alarming rise in the number of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan," he added.

While emphasising the data on enforced disappearances collected by the BHRC, Malik said that about 506 individuals were subjected to enforced disappearances in Balochistan, and about 47 of these forcibly disappeared individuals had fallen due to extrajudicial killings.

Razzak Baloch, another prominent Baloch rights activist, toldthat Pakistan is a "failed state" and the Baloch people no longer want to live with them.

"We want to tell the United Nations and the civilised world that Pakistan is a 'failed state' and Baloch don't want to live under Pakistan anymore. Hence, we want the Pakistan Army out of there. Pakistan cannot feed such a large army without Balochistan. They want to loot and plunder our gold and resources to survive because, without them, Pakistan cannot sustain itself," he said.

"We will ensure that all this destruction is put to an end so that all the oppressed communities like Baloch, Sindhi, and people from Sindhudesh can live peacefully and with dignity," he added.

Another Baloch activist present at the event emphasised that the United Nations has a responsibility towards the Baloch victims.

"We came together in the UN to raise the issue of human rights violations in Pakistan. We believe that the United Nations has a responsibility towards the suffering people of Balochistan. We believe that the UN cannot turn a blind eye to a regime like Pakistan that continues to commit heinous crimes such as genocide and crimes against humanity," he said.

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