Baloch activists sign petition demanding int'l action on Baloch genocide

QUETTA: Baloch activists have started signing a petition urging the international community to take action on the ongoing genocide of their community members.

Baloch activists have demanded that the United Nations and Human Rights organisations should take action and hold the authorities accountable for the crimes committed in Balochistan. Activists have called for a fact-finding mission headed by the United Nations Working Group to investigate the matter.

At the time of filing this report, around 58,000 petitions had been filed. Since the last 20 years, military aggression has intensified in Balochistan and thousands of Baloch have been killed. Human rights violations continue unabated in Balochistan.

Recently, Pakistan witnessed a long march organised by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee against the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of Baloch people. On December 6, 2023, the families of victims and Baloch activists began their march from Balochistan's Turbat towards Islamabad.

However, the Pakistani state and its security forces made an effort to stop the march at different places. This was done by using a variety of tactics, such as roadblocks, harassment, and direct use of force and violence by Police.

After holding sit-in for over two months outside the National Press Club in Islamabad, the activists decided to return to their homes in Balochistan under the leadership of Mahrang Baloch.

In Pakistan's most underdeveloped area of Balochistan, the country's intelligence agency Inter Services Intelligence has been accused of committing all kinds of atrocities including, abduction, killing and torture to instill fear.

Injustice and strong feeling of alienation has forced some Baloch people to pick up arms who have been continuously targeting Pakistani army personnel and Chinese assets in their region.

Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch, while addressing a massive public gathering, emphasised that a "revolution" was brewing in Balochistan, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. She made the remarks while addressing a gathering on Saturday.

In her address at the Shahwani Stadium in Quetta, Baloch also called the ongoing movement against enforced disappearances and operations "a watershed moment."

The gathering was attended by thousands, including women, political workers and students from different areas of the province, according to Dawn.

"Today, the participants have proved that they are with their mothers and sisters in their struggle for the recovery of their loved ones," she said.

"We proudly hold our heads high because of you," she further said, referring to the charged crowd. Activist Mahrang added that the Baloch people have been raising their voices for the last 75 years against the "atrocities and injustices" committed by the state, Dawn reported.

She said, "They have weapons, but we have the courage to continue our struggle against the atrocities and injustices." Baloch vowed that the movement would continue and they would not abandon it. She criticised the Pakistani government and emphasised that those in power were "deaf and dumb" and did not listen to the people.