United Nations Secretary-General should take notice of the humanitarian crisis in Balochistan: Khali

The chairman of Baloch National Movement (BNM) Khalil Baloch has said after World War Two the formation of the United Nations brought new hopes for the world problems being solved through this institution. It was at this junction of history, that many colonial powers weakened and could not maintain control over their colonies. Consequently, many new states came into existence. India was declared free from British colonialism. Meanwhile, Balochistan has also gained its independence as a free state. But, unfortunately, after a small period, new-born Pakistan with its inherited British military power invaded and occupied Balochistan and forced us into slavery. This happened only two years after the foundation of the United Nations. Pakistan not only snatched our freedom but also exploited our marine and land resources. It also started a systematic genocide of the Baloch people. Pakistan has incrementally increased the genocide of the Baloch nation for the last two decades. Like the past, the position of the UN is of a silent spectator. The United Nations is debited with the blood of the Baloch nation which increases with each passing day.

Chairman Khalil Baloch further said, "One of the main objectives of the formation of the United Nations is to find lasting solutions to the problems between the states and the nations, but the unnatural state that came into existence in the name of Pakistan does not either meet the definition of a nation nor the word "Pakistan" is the name of any nation. Today, Pakistan, the murderer of oppressed and persecuted nations, is not only a member state of the UN but also responsible for the occupation of Balochistan and perpetrating terrorism in the region. Wherever an incident of terrorism takes place in the world, its links directly or indirectly lead to Pakistan. Pakistan neither meets the historical and cultural requirements of a state nor does it have the legitimacy of a confederation that formed with a mutual accord among nations. It is established on the bases of religious fundamentalism and anti-humanitarianism. This is the main reason that Pakistan for the last seventy years has been wreaking havoc on its subjugated nations and in its neighborhood in the region. We want the UN and the global powers to be aware of this fact."

"On the occasion of the visit of the current Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres to Pakistan, we would like to remind him that as an occupied nation, we have a strong hope that you will take notice of ongoing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Balochistan and would take initiatives to resolve the Baloch national issue," he said.

Chairman Khalil Baloch said that if the visit of the UN Secretary-General was limited to knowing only Islamabad's narrative, the lies of Pakistani rulers and of some clauses of the constitution, it would not only be a historic injustice to the Baloch nation but it also will be considered through violating the aims and objectives of the United Nations.

He said that the visit of the Secretary-General is taking place at a time when Pakistani forces and intelligence agencies are committing the Baloch genocide in Balochistan. The ground for Baloch political voices has been narrowed down. Pakistan is committing human rights violations on a daily basis by placing checkpoints in every corner of Balochistan. The UN Human Rights Council's Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has confirmed requests for thousands of forced disappearances of the Baloch people. These are the cases where families have filed their case with consent and identification through meeting the rules and requirements of this group. Otherwise, the number of forced disappearances has exceeded forty thousand. In the past, the top government officials even Federal Home Minister Aftab Sherpao, former Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti and Secretary Interior Akbar Hussain Durrani have accepted the arrest of more than 20,000 people in front the media, during their tenures but there is no evidence of anyone’s release or production before a court. More than 5000 Baloch are martyred in custodial killings, targeted killings, and fake encounters. BBC World Report from 2011 to 2016 has also verified the killing of 1000 Baloch. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38454483) - Similarly, in the previous regime, one hundred and sixty-nine bodies were recovered from three mass graves in Khuzdar. Only three of them were identified as “missing” those who were abducted from different areas by the Pakistani army. The rest of the bodies were neither identified nor sent for the DNA test.

Chairman Khalil Baloch said that Pakistan is carrying out brutalities on all suppressed nations. Pashtuns and Sindhis are also suffering from genocide. Like the Baloch, thousands of Pashtuns and hundreds of Sindhis have been killed or imprisoned in Pakistani army prisons. To date, two decades of military operation continues in Balochistan. As a result, thousands of homes and villages have been burnt, many properties including livestock and jewelry have been looted. Women, children and the elderly are being humiliated on a daily basis. A cemetery has been set up in Mastung, which has been named as the graveyard of unknown people. The fact is that these are the missing persons who are killed by the forces. It has also been reported in international media. The dead bodies are still being thrown, but to this day, the state of Pakistan has denied the DNA test of these bodies, because doing so will prove that they are the people who have been taken by the Pakistani army and intelligence agencies in front of the people and transferred to the torture cells.

He said that the Pakistani atrocities have mounted twofold when China, in the form of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), became a partner with Pakistan for exploiting Balochistan's resources and its strategic position. Along with the direct oppression of these two forces, the Pakistani army has shifted its fanatical religious proxies to Balochistan to crush the Baloch national movement as well as to contaminate Balochistan's secular society and religious tolerance. Many extremist organizations, including ISIS, have regular training and launchpad in Balochistan under the supervision of the Pakistan Army.

He said that CPEC has become a plan for the economic exploitation of the Baloch. Baloch national resources are being looted under this guise. Another clear evidence of this is a recent statement by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in which he says, will sell Balochistan's resources and pay Pakistan's debt. Pakistan has cheaply been selling Balochistan's resources for the past seventy years on the pretext of so-called Mega-projects like Saindak, Rikodak, and Gwadar. The Baloch land has been leased to China without the consent of the Baloch nation. The terms and conditions of this so-called project "CPEC" are so dangerous and inhuman that Pakistan is reluctant to present them in its own parliament.

Chairman Khalil Baloch said these so-called development projects are destroying the environment along with exploiting Baloch's resources. For example, environmental pollution, which is one of the burning issues in the world is dangerously ignored in these projects. No initiative has taken place to protect the indigenous peoples' environmental rights in these projects. Pakistan's apathetic approach to the Baloch people can be seen after the nuclear tests which were conducted in Balochistan. The non-existence of environmental measures reduced the people of rich Balochistan into living below the poverty line and also thousands are suffering from various diseases including cancer caused by these nuclear tests. One can safely say that Balochistan has the highest cancer rate in the world and this is why the state does not allow any research and documentation with regards to cancer caused by these nuclear tests.

The BNM chairman said that under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), millions of people from China and Pakistan are planned to be settled in Gwadar. This is to ensure a demographic change bringing the Baloch nation into a minority in their own land. In the first phase, the populations on the sides of the CPEC project have been forcibly displaced. Pakistani forces have transformed Balochistan into the “No Go” area. Human rights organizations and social workers, including the neutral and international media, have been banned from entering Balochistan for the past twenty years.

Chairman Khalil Baloch said, "We request the UN Secretary-General to specially visit Balochistan on the issues of missing persons, extrajudicial killing, exploitation of Baloch national resources and ecological destruction”.