Geneva [Switzerland] April 7 (ANI): At the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Baloch activist Sabiha Baloch warned of a deteriorating human rights situation in Balochistan, urging international attention to what she described as state-linked abuses.
Speaking for the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), she said that despite major foreign-backed development projects in the province, residents face grave violations. Citing reports in The Balochistan Post, Baloch pointed to a pattern of enforced disappearances in which individuals are taken under unclear circumstances and families receive no information about their fate. She also referred to allegations of extrajudicial killings and the recovery of disfigured bodies, which she said indicate systematic, not isolated, abuses.
Baloch highlighted restrictions on civil liberties, saying journalists, students, lawyers, rights defenders and other professionals face intimidation, arrest, and prosecution under strict counter-terrorism laws. She argued these measures are used to silence dissent and stifle peaceful advocacy.
Noting that several BYC leaders, including Mahrang Baloch, remain in prolonged detention, she called on the United Nations to launch an independent, impartial investigation into human rights conditions in Balochistan.
The region, she said, continues to experience enforced disappearances where some victims are later released while others endure extended detention or are killed. These violations, along with arbitrary arrests and a lack of accountability, have increased insecurity and distrust, undermining efforts to restore peace, justice, and confidence in state institutions. (ANI)
