Baloch organisation protests outside Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC, over Karima Baloch's death
Dec 29, 2020
Washington DC [US], December 30 : Several members of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) held a protest in front of the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC over the death of activist Karima Baloch.
Demanding further investigation by Toronto police into the death of Karima, the demonstrators outside the embassy raised slogans against Pakistan and held placards which read "Baloch lives matters" and "Pakistan killed Karima Baloch."
"Baloch, Pashtuns will raise voice for Karima Baloch and seek justice for her. She was one of the most renowned political activists from Balochistan, who was murdered. She was targeted by Pakistani ISI for a long time," said Sunil Saine, one of the demonstrators.
Another protester said, "We demand that the Canada government conduct a high-level investigation into the Karima Baloch murder case. This is not the first time that a Baloch got killed in a foreign county."
This comes after BNM submitted a letter to the Canadian Embassy requesting an investigation into her death.
A similar protest took place outside Canada's Mission in Houston by Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement, to condemn the death of the Baloch activist, who died under mysterious circumstances.
Karima's dead body was found in Ontario Lake Toronto harbourfront last week under mysterious circumstances. The Toronto police on December 23 termed the death of Karima Baloch a "non-criminal death", but the family and friends are demanding a thorough investigation into the case.
Baloch had campaigned vigorously against the disappearances and human rights violations in the troubled Balochistan province of Pakistan.
Senior US Diplomat Robert A Destro on Monday condoled the death of Karima Baloch.
"Saddened by the passing of activist Karima Baloch last week. She fiercely defended women's rights, campaigned for missing persons, and continued her human rights advocacy, even after leaving Pakistan. The world has lost a hero," said Destro, who is the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; and Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.
Requesting the United Nations to intervene in the mysterious death of Baloch activist Karima Baloch in Toronto, Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC) in a letter has said that Pakistan has "responded violently to the genuine demands of the Baloch people".
In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Naseer Dashti, BHRC Executive President, wrote, "Her family and political friends believe that Pakistani secret agencies are involved in the death of Karima Mehrab and have rejected the initial report of the Toronto police."