BNM calls IMF to end financial support to Pakistan

Shaal: Information Secretary of Baloch National Movement, Qazi Dad Mohammad Rehan, in a press conference held in the wake of Ziarat tragedy, has appealed to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva that since Pakistan had been committing serious violations of human rights in Balochistan. Therefore, all financial institutions, including the IMF, should stop providing aid to Pakistan and held Pakistan accountable for heinous war crimes in Balochistan.

He said in online press conference on Wednesday that whenever Pakistan received financial support from the international community, its army used those aid against the Baloch nation. It was the duty of these institutions to monitor the country, if it were not involved in crimes against humanity. “Whether these crimes of Pakistan not enough for the international community to impose financial sanctions against Pakistan.” questioned Qazi Rehan.

He said in social media press conference, “Pakistan is committing heinous crimes against humanity, every month dozens of Baloch people are being detained and forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani army, and few lucky victims are later released after going through inhuman torture. Thousands of people have been forcibly disappeared at the hands of the Pakistani army and thousands of people have been killed during interrogation in dungeons and their bodies were thrown away on roadsides, this process has been going on in Balochistan for decades.”

While briefing the media persons about the Ziarat tragedy, Qazi Dad said, “The Baloch Liberation Army captured and killed Pakistan Army’s Lt. Col. Laiq Baig Mirza on July 14. In response, the Pakistani army extrajudicially killed 9 enforced disappeared persons in a fake encounter who were held in their torture cells for years.

The army claimed that these persons were involved in the abduction and killing of Colonel Laiq Baig in Ziarat. Among those people, six people have been identified so far, Sha Baksh Marri , Shahzad son of Khuda bakhsh Dhewar was forcibly disappeared from Shaal by the Pakistani army on June 4, 2022, and Salim son of Karim a student from Panjgur district. He forcibly disappeared after his arrest, while he was on his way to Quetta. Physiotherapist Dr Mukhtiar Baloch was detained and forcibly disappeared from Quetta on 11 June 2022 by the Pakistan Army, Engineer and teacher Zaheer Baloch son of Mohammad Akbar forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani Army on 7 October 2021. While Shams Satakzahi was abducted by the Pakistani Army for the past five years, he was detained by the Pakistani army in 2017.

He said that international human rights organizations also recognize that enforced disappearance in Balochistan is a truth that cannot be denied. The heads of administrative, security institutions and judiciary in Pakistan have expressed this fact in various forums that Baloch political activists are being forcibly disappeared because they are associated with the struggle for independence of Balochistan.

He added that the puppet politicians of Pakistan in Balochistan had repeatedly said that the problem of enforced disappearances was related to the independence movement of Balochistan. Hence, the Pakistani army had convinced the so-called civil government and the judiciary that it is necessary for the ‘survival of Pakistan’ to keep continue the enforced disappearance of Baloch political activists because the Pakistani army was unable to produce evidence against them in court. Therefore, the government of Pakistan and the judiciary had given an open exemption to the Pakistani army for forced disappearances.

Qazi Rehan said that we appeal to all the international financial institutions, all the member countries of the United Nations and especially Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF, to refrain from providing financial assistance to Pakistan and to pressurize it taking cemented action to bring an end to enforced disappearances immediately.

He said, the silence of world community “will encourage Pakistan to use further force against the Baloch and the current human rights situation will get worse.”