Appeal for Attention to Ongoing Human Rights Violations in Balochistan

Dear Members of the United Nations Human Rights Council,

On the occasion of the 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, we would like to respectfully bring to your attention the alarming and ongoing human rights violations in Balochistan, Pakistan.

Since the illegal occupation and forced annexation of Balochistan by Pakistan on March 27, 1948, the region has suffered a long and harrowing history of severe human rights abuses. Following this annexation, Balochistan is now experiencing its fifth military aggression, each marked by grave violations of human rights. During the previous four operations, Baloch leaders were executed, imprisoned, and democratically elected governments were dismantled. In the 1970s, enforced disappearances began in Balochistan, notably with the disappearance of Asadullah Mengal and Ahmed Shah Baloch, a practice that continues unabated. The martyrdom of Nawab Akbar Bugti during General Musharraf's regime further escalated the intensity of human rights violations in the region.

The following are some of the key human rights abuses currently plaguing Balochistan:

Enforced Disappearances: Thousands of Baloch political activists, students, teachers, lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders, poets, writers, intellectuals, and tribal elders have been forcibly disappeared. These disappearances continue with impunity, as the state refuses to acknowledge, document and deliver justice. The state perpetuates this cycle of systematic violence and injustice; victim families of enforced disappearances are threatened, harassed and often subjected to enforced disappearances themselves.

Genocide: Various methods of genocide have been employed in Balochistan. Mass graves have been discovered, but no substantial actions have been taken to address these heinous crimes.

Fake Encounters: Individuals who have been forcibly disappeared and are held in secret detention centers are often extrajudicially killed. These killings are then falsely reported as armed encounters. This practice represents a grave violation of human rights and human dignity.

Fourth Schedule Profiling: The Baloch people's right to political freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly is being systematically curtailed. To silence voices raised against the enforced disappearances and genocide, a large number of political activists, students, lawyers, journalists, professors, and ordinary citizens have been placed on the Fourth Schedule. This results in profiling, harassment, and suppression, preventing them from speaking out against state-sponsored human rights abuses.

We, Baloch Voice for Justice, urge the United Nations Human Rights Council to take immediate action in addressing the ongoing human rights violations in Balochistan. We request that the Council hold Pakistani authorities accountable for the enforced disappearances, genocide, fake encounters, and the arbitrary inclusion of political activists in the Fourth Schedule. The people of Balochistan are suffering under these violations, and it is imperative that the international community demands answers from the Pakistani government.

We hope that this important session of the UNHRC will give due consideration to these pressing concerns and take appropriate steps to end the ongoing atrocities in Balochistan.

Baloch Voice for Justice