Baloch identity is "under threat": Mahrang Baloch calls on "silence" of international community

Feb 01, 2024

Islamabad [Pakistan], February 1 : Citing the "threat" to the Baloch identity, activist Mahrang Baloch urged people to raise awareness about the ongoing "Baloch genocide" among the international community.
She said that the "genocide" has been going on for decades, adding that the "silence and soporific behaviour" of human rights champions are extremely frustrating.
"The Baloch Genocide has been ongoing for decades, and its identity is under threat. Similarly, the silence and soporific behaviour of human rights champions are extremely frustrating. Please help us by signing this petition to raise awareness among international communities," Mahrang Baloch posted on X.
https://x.com/MahrangBaloch_/status/1752999380162859102?s=20
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.
The Pakistan government has been accused of employing force against relatives of missing persons and engaging in political vendettas.
The Interim Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar has openly opposed demonstrations by families of the forcibly disappeared and has accused journalists, writers, and civil society advocates supporting these causes of being linked to the Baloch armed struggle, as reported by Balochistan Post.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee and other rights organizations alleged that Pakistan's military institutions are behind the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of innocent people in Balochistan and the state's mainstream parties, government, judiciary, and media are backing these crimes.
According to the Human Rights Department of the Balochistan National Movement (BNM), PAANK, enforced disappearances are occurring daily, with an average of three people being abducted by Pakistani forces from different parts of Balochistan every day, The Balochistan Post reported.