Activists at UN side event highlight rampant human rights abuses in Pakistan

Organised on the sidelines of the ongoing 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the event was headed by Fazal Ur Rehman Afridi, Principal Representative of TUMUKU Tumuku Development Cultural Union (ECOSOC).

Other human rights defenders within the panel included Shunichi Fujiki, the managing director of International Career Support Association, Naseem Baloch, Baloch National Movement Chairman, Vermaut Andy, a journalist and human rights defender, Jafari Reza, the chairman of Afghan Peace Dialogue, and Jabarkhail Azizullah, a member of the PTM International Advocacy (USA).

Afridi highlighted the atrocities of the Pakistani defence forces on Pashtun activists who were raising their voices in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region recently.

In his statement, Afridi claimed that "even yesterday, the Pakistani military, the secret services and the police attacked the activists of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), in districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa like Bajaur, Aurangzeb, Lakki Marwat, Madan and Charsadda. This brutal crackdown is condemned by all the activists of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the international community present here."

He further added that the protestors were attacked in the wake of a Pashtun National Jirga (Court) to be held on October 11.

"The police used tear gas and bullets, it was a peaceful setting, and PTM has always been peaceful. But the authorities are not allowing us, and they are violating our basic fundamental rights, like freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Several activists were injured, and many activists' homes were also attacked, in some cases, their parents and relatives were illegally arrested and detained," he said.

During the event, Vermaut Andy cited the case of Ayesha, a victim of enforced disappearances who has been suffering from the abduction of loved ones.

Andy stated, "Ayesha is a mother of three. Her husband, a teacher in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was taken one night, with no warning and no explanation. That was two years ago. To this day, she doesn't know if he's dead or alive. Her children ask her every night, when is daddy coming home? And every night, she has no answer".

The journalist further stated, "Ayesha's husband is one of the 32,000 Pashtuns who have disappeared in the last decades. And these disappearances are not accidents. They are deliberate acts of terror, used to silence those who dare to speak, to crush those who dare to stand. When voices are silenced, the world must speak, when people disappear, the world must search. In June 2024, 54 Pashtun disappeared within a single month, gone just like that. Their families have received no answers, no justice, and many of these men were simply activists, teachers and workers. They were no criminals. They were human beings who believed in the right to live with dignity."

Quoting his personal experience regarding rampant enforced disappearances within Pakistan, Naseem Baloch stated, "My personal experience mirrors the plight of thousands of Baloch men, women and children who have disappeared due to Pakistan's policy of enforced disappearance. This policy seeks to silence the Baloch people's call for freedom. Since the forced institution of Balochistan in 1948, our people have faced systematic exploitation and oppression."

He accused Pakistan of launching "undeclared war" against war against Baloch with a goal to crush all forms of resistance to its occupation. He said that Pakistan operates several internment centres where thousands of Baloch, Pashtun, Sindhi and Kashmiri people are held without trial.

Naseem Baloch stated, "The state's campaign of terror includes enforced disappearances, extrajudicial and custodial killings and torture. Pakistan's undeclared war against the Baloch aims to crush all forms of resistance to its occupation. Today, Pakistan operates several internment centres where thousands of Baloch, Pashtun, Sindhi and Kashmiri individuals are held without trial."

"These centres are black holes of injustice where detainees endure inhuman torture and the loss of their dignity. Survivors, often left broken and scarred, have recounted the psychological and physical torment they faced. Many of the disappeared are never seen again, with their bodies discarded in mass graves. The United Nations Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances clearly states that such acts are offences against human dignity," he added. (ANI)