Baloch activists urge people to participate in protest against Baloch genocide on Eid

Apr 10, 2024

Quetta [Pakistan], April 10 : Prominent Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch has announced major protests across Balochistan on Eid and called on people to participate in the movement against the Baloch genocide and share the pain and suffering of the families of the missing persons.
She said that the protests have been organised by the Baloch Solidarity Committee. In the video posted on X, Mahrang Baloch expressed her concerns over the ongoing genocide in Balochistan.
In a post shared on X, Mahrang Baloch stated, "Baloch nation! Participate as an organized and united nation in the protests organized by the Baloch Solidarity Committee on the day of Eid, and share the pain and suffering of the families of the missing persons, the movement against Baloch genocide is our struggle for national survival."
https://twitter.com/MahrangBaloch_/status/1777791737110372461
Another prominent Baloch activist, Sammi Deen Baloch, spoke about the same protest being organised across Balochistan on the sidelines of Eid. In the post, she stated, "Stand with us against this inhuman practice by participating in the Eid protest rallies against enforced disappearances."
https://twitter.com/SammiBaluch/status/1777716429040885910
In a video shared along with the post, Sammi Deen Baloch said, "enforced disappearances in Balochistan is a major atrocity on the people. Several Baloch families have now been destroyed because of this. Thousands of Baloch individuals have fallen prey to these enforced disappearances. These affected families spend all their time and happy moments either on the streets or in front of Press Clubs, demanding the safe return of their loved ones."
"Just like every year, this year also rallies across Balochistan will be organised, demanding the return of forcibly disappeared Baloch individuals. These rallies will be initiated from the city of Karachi. I invite people from all walks of life to participate in these rallies and show their support for the families of the disappeared individuals," she added.
Notably, the Baloch community from Balochistan regularly raises their concerns in the form of protests, highlighting their issues over the inhumane treatment at the hands of the Pakistani administration. Activists have said that people of Balochistan regularly face enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and extrajudicial arrests, and activists who raise their voices against the administration and the Pakistan law enforcement agencies are being tortured.
Earlier in 2023, Mahrang Baloch and several leaders from Balochistan organised a peaceful sit-in in Islamabad highlighting the inhumane treatment of Balochi individuals. At that time, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) camp had continued to hold sit-ins outside the National Press Club in Islamabad for more than 50 days.
The sit-in had attracted more participants despite harsh weather and pressure from law enforcement agencies. The BYC had said that even though the state tried to use every force to sabotage the peaceful movement, however, the participants of the march faced each tactic with resilience. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee stressed that they need the support of people from all over the world to raise their voices and stand with the Baloch people.
In March this year, the Baloch Human Rights Council urged the United Nations to dispatch a fact finding mission to investigate the human rights violations in Balochistan, Baloch Human Rights Council said in an official statement on Wednesday.
This came during a side event hosted on the sidelines of the 52nd Session of UN Human Rights Council by the General Secretary of the Baloch Human Rights Council to highlight the atrocities faced by the Baloch people in Pakistan.
Representing the Baloch Human Rights Council, Qambar Malik elaborated in his address at the event that, in constant violation of national and international laws and its obligations under various UN conventions, Pakistan has been committing heinous crimes against humanity in Balochistan.
He also showed the data collected by the Baloch Human Rights Council on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch political and human rights activists, including women and children, lamented that the perpetrators of these crimes are roaming around with impunity, the release said.
He provided a brief background of the human rights situation in Balochistan, emphasizing that the Baloch struggle for self-determination directly resulted from Pakistan's invasion of Balochistan and its forceful annexation into Pakistan in 1948 against the will of the Baloch people.