India has urged Pakistan to stop ‘state repression’ and ‘gross violation of human rights’ in Balochistan.
The spokesperson of Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Raveesh Kumar, has said that the ‘state repression’ and ‘gross violation of human rights’ should be stopped in Balochistan.
While replying to a question during a press briefing, Mr. Kumar said that India’s position remains same about Balochistan and Pakistan should take care of its minorities in accordance with the international obligations.
India’s statement comes at a time when human rights violations including enforced disappearances are at all time high in Balochistan.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch believe that Pakistani security forces are involved in gross human rights violations in Balochistan at a very large scale. Local campaign groups claim as many as 20,000 Baloch have went missing in last fifteen years, whereas, thousands have been killed.
This is not the first time India has ‘raised concerns’ on human rights situation in Balochistan. In 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also made a reference to the ‘Baloch freedom struggle’ in his Independence Day speech.
Pakistan, on other hand, accuses India of supporting Baloch rebels, a charge which India denies.