Quetta: Leading Baloch human rights defender Mir Yar Baloch on Tuesday wrote an ‘open letter’ to the Indian all-party Parliamentary delegations requesting them to include Pakistan’s Baloch genocide in their agenda during their global visits aimed at exposing Pakistan’s cross border terrorism.
“We, the sixty million Baloch people, deeply appreciate and commend your unwavering resolve, national unity, and collective efforts in exposing Pakistan’s cross terrorism and its full scale support to Jihadists and extremists, on the international stage. Your mission, undertaken with determination and solidarity, is a beacon of hope for those who have long suffered under oppression and illegal occupation of Pakistan,” read the letter
“Under the capable and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has unified its 1.4 billion citizens into a harmonious and diverse nation. Pakistan, a duplicitous and cunning adversary, has persistently attempted to disrupt the unity between India, Balochistan, and Afghanistan by exploiting religion as a weapon. These attempts have consistently failed,” it added.
Writing “on the behalf of the Baloch community”, Mir urged the Indian delegations to use their voices to inform the world about the atrocities committed against the Baloch people by Pakistan, the same enemy that India has faced for the past seven decades and has been terrorising Balochistan since 1948.
“We want the world to hear our cries; the oppression and brutality have surpassed all limits. Tragically, we are now deprived of the freedom to speak. To share our suffering, we must rely on social media, as our population of sixty million lacks a single national language television channel, a national newspaper, or even a radio station to tell our stories. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Punjab province operates two hundred TV channels, publishes nine hundred newspapers, and runs hundreds of FM and international frequency radio stations, all funded by looting our national wealth,” the letter stated.
Appreciating the Indian delegates for exposing Pakistan on the global stage with evidence and reasoning, the human rights activist called the efforts commendable.
“We believe that more should be done. We wish for your delegations to travel the world, representing India, and we, the Baloch people, want to join you in informing the world about the ongoing oppression, military operations, and extrajudicial killings in occupied Balochistan,” the letter mentioned.
“India and Balochistan have both suffered from the religious extremism of a common enemy for the past seven decades. When our enemy is the same, and our national interests align, we should support each other rather than struggle separately. We are ready to meet with India’s foreign delegations and brief them on Pakistan’s atrocities in Balochistan so that our contribution can aid in bringing Pakistan to justice for its war crimes on the international stage. Your global reach and influence can significantly amplify our efforts,” it further detailed.
Mir also highlighted occupying Pakistani forces’ military aggression leading to Baloch genocide, adding that girls and women were abducted by the Pakistani military and sold in Punjab’s markets, thus erasing their identity.
“Our women human rights defenders are being put behind the bars, they are facing fabricated charges. Mahrang Baloch along with thousands other Baloch activists are languishing in torture cells. The Pakistani military is not obeying even the orders issued by its own courts to release Mahrang and other fellows,” Mir highlighted.
“Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, has subjected approximately 40,000 Baloch to enforced disappearances as collective punishment. Nearly two hundred thousand Baloch have been killed during military operations or in custody, with their bodies dumped along roadsides, deserts, forests, and wilderness,” he revealed in his letter.
The leading Baloch human rights activist urged the international community to send fact-finding missions to Balochistan to meet with Baloch families and victims and gather independent data. Mir also requested the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to dispatch a team of experts to Chagai in Pakistan’s Balochistan province to assess the radioactive contamination resulting from the six nuclear tests conducted in 1998.
“The team should collect samples from the mountains and test them in laboratories, while also meeting with thousands of Baloch cancer patients to understand their plight. However, we know that Pakistan will not permit international teams to visit Balochistan because their presence would expose Pakistan’s crimes. The entire Balochistan is currently suffering from Pakistan’s war crimes, with every Baloch household having two to four young men either missing or killed and dumped in desolate areas,” the letter further stated.
“In conclusion, we appeal to the international community: today, India and Balochistan confront the oppression and extremism fostered by Pakistan. If decisive actions are not taken against Pakistan, if it is not held accountable for its war crimes, and if its military is not withdrawn,” it concluded.
(IANS)
