Geneva, Switzerland — At the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Baloch activist Sabiha Baloch warned of a worsening human rights crisis in Balochistan and appealed for international attention to alleged state-linked abuses. Speaking on behalf of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), she said that despite major foreign-backed development projects in the province, residents continue to suffer serious violations.
Citing reports in The Balochistan Post, Baloch described a pattern of enforced disappearances in which people are taken under unclear circumstances and families are left without information. She also pointed to allegations of extrajudicial killings and the recovery of disfigured bodies, which she said suggest systematic rather than isolated violations.
Baloch highlighted growing restrictions on civil liberties, saying journalists, students, lawyers, human rights defenders and other professionals face intimidation, arrest and prosecution under broad counter-terrorism laws she characterized as tools to silence dissent and stifle peaceful advocacy. She noted that several BYC leaders, including Mahrang Baloch, remain in prolonged detention.
Calling on the United Nations to launch an independent and impartial investigation, she warned that enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and a lack of accountability have heightened insecurity and distrust, undermining prospects for peace, justice and confidence in state institutions.
