Quetta: Several leading human rights organisations on Friday condemned the persecution of Baloch communities in Karachi, including raids, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances allegedly carried out by Pakistani forces.
Condemning the actions, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) alleged that the ongoing series of military operations and raids in Baloch neighbourhoods in Karachi are aimed at eradicating Baloch identity.
“Frightened by the rising Baloch consciousness and political awakening, the state is once again perpetuating its Baloch genocidal policies in the streets of Karachi, attempting to bring Baloch communities under the shadow of fear, raids, arrests, and enforced disappearances. In the past, under the guise of gang wars and maintaining peace, Baloch settlements faced insecurity, violence, and continuous state actions; today, the same kind of policies are being repeated through different names and new tactics,” the BYC stated.
“The state repeatedly recycles its colonial policies with new titles and methods, but the objective remains the same: to keep Baloch communities under pressure through fear,” it added.
Expressing grave concern over the atrocities against Baloch civilians in Karachi, the Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) called on Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and other human rights organisations to urgently investigate and document these reports, engage with affected families, and press Pakistan for accountability.
Meanwhile, amid escalating violence against civilians across Balochistan, the BYC revealed that the dead body of 29-year-old government teacher Hatim Baloch was dumped in Panjgur district on August 8, after he was forcibly disappeared by Pakistan-backed death squads.
“The killing of Hatim Baloch reflects the growing danger faced by Baloch across Balochistan, where death squads and security-linked forces operate with no accountability. Teachers, students, labourers, fishermen, and other ordinary civilians continue to face enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, while families are left with lifelong sorrow,” the BYC stated.
“The killing and dumping of Hatim’s body is not only the destruction of one life; it is another blow to a community already living through a worsening human rights crisis. Such killings deepen fear, destroy families, and reinforce a culture of impunity in Balochistan,” it added.
Calling on the international community and human rights organisations to urgently act to document these violations and demand independent investigations, the BYC said the people of Balochistan could not continue to be left “without protection, justice, or answers”.
(IANS)
