Baloch activists protest outside UN office in Geneva, demand special rapporteur​ to look into human rights violations in Balochistan

Baloch activists on Monday demanded appointment of UN special rapporteur to look into human rights violations in Balochistan.

Pic courtesy: ANI

Geneva: Baloch activists have demanded appointment of UN special rapporteur to look into human rights violations in Balochistan.

"In February this year a mass grave was discovered in Dera Bugti where only women and children were buried," said Abdul Nawaz Bugti of Baloch Republican Party.

"Pakistan has been targeting and blackmailing Baloch activists in the UN and in Balochistan," he added.

The Baloch activists also protest outside United Nations Office in Geneva against China, Pakistan and human rights violation in Balochistan.

Mehran Marri, Baloch activist, said, "Things have taken nastier turn from 4-5 months. Pakistan military and intelligence agencies abduct/kidnap women and children."

"Islamabad has thrown to the winds at least 25 out of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Balochistan. The execution style, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances, and kill and dump of thousands of Baloch, use of degrading forms of torture such as feeding feces and sodomy of the Baloch activists have taken place in the last 12 years - and is still continuing," said Ahmar Musti Khan, founder of the American Friends of Balochistan.

"When theirs is a special rapporteur on Iran and a special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, it`s logical to have a special rapporteur on Pakistan to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Balochistan," he further said. 

On the other hand, Ryszard Czarnecki, vice president, European Parliament, said, "For EU it is unacceptable that Pakistan uses violence against people in Balochistan."

Baloch political activists and human rights defenders raised the situation on Friday and condemned the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) at a side event during the 34th Session of UN Human Rights Council.

On October 09 last year also, Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) activists had staged protest demonstration in the suburbs of Quetta recently against the rising involvement of China in the name of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Balochistan with the help of Pakistan Army.

A large number of Baloch women and children had also taken part in FBM rally and had blocked main road for several hours.

The protesters had burnt the flags of China and Pakistan while protesting against the occupation and exploitation of Baloch natural resources through CPEC on Baloch territory by Pakistan and China.

The Balochi protesters of the Free Balochistan Movement had also raised slogans like "Stop War Crimes in Balochistan", "Stop Baloch Genocide", "Down with Pakistan" and "Down with China", as per ANI.

Enraged over exploitation of their natural resources and atrocities committed by the Pakistani military against Baloch residents, the FBM protesters had burnt effigies of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

(With ANI inputs)