Baloch group briefs UN officials on grave human rights abuses by Pakistani authorities in Balochistan

Geneva, Sep 23 (IANS) The leaders of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) on Wednesday briefed the United Nations officials regarding the grave human rights abuses there, alleging that Pakistan’s policy of enforced disappearances has left many families devastated and homes deserted across the province.

According to BNM, a delegation led by its Chairman Naseem Baloch met Grazyna Baranowska, Chair-Rapporteur of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) in Geneva.

During the meeting, the BNM delegation presented the latest six-month human rights report and a dossier on enforced disappearances, prepared by the human rights body Paank, to the Working Group’s leadership.

The BNM said that its sustained international advocacy has brought the issue of Balochistan firmly before global institutions as an urgent matter requiring resolution.

“Pakistan has long evaded accountability on enforced disappearances, but BNM’s persistent efforts have compelled it to answer before international bodies. In this meeting, the BNM delegation did not merely describe the situation in words; it submitted documented evidence that is difficult to dismiss,” it added.

The BNM called on UN mechanisms not to rely on Pakistan’s “false and unfounded” claims, but to take practical and effective steps towards accountability so that the human rights situation in Balochistan can improve.

Last week, a leading international human rights organisation drew the attention of the global community to the abuses in Balochistan, accusing Pakistani authorities of subjecting activists, students and families of missing persons to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and reprisals.

Addressing the 63rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council held in Geneva, the Hague-based Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) said: “We draw the Council’s urgent attention to the human rights crisis in occupied Balochistan, where Baloch human rights defenders, students, and families of the disappeared faced enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and reprisals by Pakistani authorities.”

The organisation urged the UN Human Rights Council and the High Commissioner to press Pakistan to immediately end enforced disappearances and collective punishment, disclose the fate of all disappeared persons, ensure fair trials, and release Baloch human rights defenders detained for peaceful advocacy.

–IANS

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