Deceased Baloch leader Karima Baloch was laid to rest on Monday in Tump, her hometown. The town continued to be under siege of the security forces for the second day and only close relatives were allowed to attend the burial service.
According to details, the dead body of Karima Baloch was buried on Monday in presence of few close relatives. Tump remained under curfew like conditions with all the routes leading to the town blocked by Pakistani paramilitary force, Frontier Corps.
The members of public were barred from attending the funeral services and people from outside Tump were not allowed to enter the town. A video received by TBP confirms only few dozen people being in attendance at the religious service. In an unprecedented development, women also attended the funeral prayers of Karima Baloch, a ceremony normally limited to the men only.
Karima Baloch’s dead body was taken in a convoy of Pakistani security forces to her hometown Tump on Sunday. The convoy reached Tump town around 6pm local time, where the mobile services were shut across the district by authorities. An unannounced curfew was also imposed by security forces and people were reportedly barred from leaving their houses in Tump, which remained in place on Monday too.
Local sources confirmed to TBP that entry and exit routes to and from Tump were manned by Pakistani paramilitary forces Frontier Corps and no one was allowed to leave or enter Tump.
Against the measures taken by Pakistani authorities, Baloch Solidarity Committee had called for a shutter down strike across Balochistan. Markets in several towns of Balochistan remained closed on Monday in response to the call.
Political parties, rights groups, prominent politicians, activists and the general public were enraged over, what has been termed as, ‘abduction’ of the dead body of Karima Baloch.
Baloch National Movement, a pro- independence political party, condemned the abduction of Karima Baloch’s dead body, saying that it is a gross violation of human rights and the international law. “Expecting the Pakistani state to respect the Baloch traditions is futile,” it said.
BNM said in a media statement that barring the people from paying their final respects to Karima Baloch will only heighten their sense of servitude. She will remain in the hearts of not just the Baloch nation, but all of the subordinated nations of the region, the statement read.
Karima Baloch, a prominent Baloch rights activist, died in Canada last December in mysterious circumstances. Her family and Baloch political factions claim that she has been murdered, but the officials in the Toronto police department have termed her death as “non-criminal.” Karima Baloch’s family members and political parties of Balochistan have rejected Toronto police’s initial report and have called for further investigation into the mysterious death.