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Protests in front of the United Nations office in Geneva have become an everyday affair as Baloch political activists are seeking international intervention to stop gross violations of human rights in Pakistan's Balochistan province.
Recently, the Baloch Human Rights Council raised concern over Pakistani atrocities in Balochistan as they held demonstrations to highlight the plight of the people in the region. Activist Qambar Malik Baloch said thousands of people have become victims of the "kill and dump policy" of the Pakistani state for expressing dissent, while the whereabouts of many others remain unknown. Baloch Activist, Qambar Malik Baloch said, "So the Pakistani authorities have continued their suppressive policies against Baloch people and all those people who are calling for the right to self-determination, even the people who support these demands, are being forcibly abducted and extra-judicially killed". He added, "First half of 2023, 160 individuals were kidnapped by Pakistani security forces, and 10 of those who went missing were executed extrajudicially. It is crucial to note that upon analysing this data, we discovered that the majority of the victims were women and children, as well as students. Women and children are particularly susceptible to sexual assault, which is why we are concerned". The activist also put a spotlight on China's expansionist agenda in Balochistan and Pakistan's complicity in the wake of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. "The Baloch believe that the Pakistan and China nexus is to exploit the natural resources, to bring people from the other parts of Pakistan and inhabit them in their homeland, which will eventually convert them into a minority. So this political space has been shrunk so people cannot do all the political activities that one can do in these Western countries like organising protests and gatherings. So this one is for the Baloch people who express their anger against Pakistan and China," he added. "Our volunteers in Balochistan provide us with information about human rights situations, especially those involving enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. They trust us enough to provide us with all the data they collect, which we then compile and analyse. We try our best to get them to raise these issues with Pakistani authorities and also the outside United Nations. We raised with the different politicians, different international NGOs to save them from Pakistani atrocities" the Baloch activist said. China has invested heavily in Balochistan, especially the development of Gwadar Port and the construction of other infrastructure in the area. The indigenous Baloch, especially the fishermen, are opposing Chinese presence in the region and they have been resisting for a long time. The Pakistan Army has been targeting the Baloch, including political activists, journalists and other intellectuals, at a time when they have been raising their voices against the Chinese occupation of their territory. (ANI)
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