The Baloch National Movement (BNM) convened a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where Dr. Naseem Baloch, the chairman, spoke to journalists and the international community about the challenges Balochistan faces, advocating for worldwide intervention to halt the persistent human rights violations there.
The event was part of BNM’s three-day initiative coinciding with the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The campaign started on March 11, 2024, with BNM’s 4th global conference on Balochistan where distinguished figures participated and showed solidarity with Balochistan’s people.
The campaign is set to proceed for two more days at Geneva’s Broken Chair.
Dr. Baloch urged the United Nations and global powers to back the Baloch national movement, demanding an end to the human rights abuses and the ‘tyranny and oppression’ endured by the Baloch people. He emphasized the significance of international focus on Balochistan and the call for resolving its current issues.
He recounted the Baloch as an ancient nation that resisted British colonial rule, maintaining its distinct identity, language, culture, and lifestyle. According to him, Balochistan declared independence in 1947 but was soon ‘occupied’ by Pakistan in 1948. The Baloch have opposed this ‘illegal occupation’ from the outset.
Dr. Baloch highlighted the enforced disappearances, ‘kill-and-dump’ practices, extrajudicial killings, fake encounters, and unwarranted arrests of Baloch activists and students. He described a prevailing atmosphere of anxiety and fear in Balochistan.
He condemned the mass graves and numerous enforced disappearances in Balochistan, as well as the fake encounters of missing Baloch individuals by Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).
Dr. Baloch also lamented the media blackout in Balochistan, noting the Pakistani state’s control over the narrative and the scarcity of independent media to report the region’s realities.
He asserted that international intervention is crucial for liberating Balochistan’s people from the unfolding human rights disaster.
Concluding the press conference, Dr. Baloch called for unified action against the Pakistani state in support of the Baloch people, framing Balochistan’s plight not as a territorial dispute but as a human rights issue that demands global attention.