Baloch National Movement stages protest in London against enforced disappearances in Pakistan
Baloch National Movement UK protested outside London Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street against the rising cases of enforced disappearances of Baloch people, according to local media.
The protest took place in London on Saturday, local media reported to The Balochistan Post.
The year 2022 was a harrowing year for Balochistan as records of forcible disappearances concern 629 people, 195 people were extrajudicially killed and 187 people were tortured, according to the annual report released by Paank, the Baloch National Movement’s human rights organization.
The report highlights the human rights situation throughout the year with infographics. According to this, in January 2022 there were 92 abductions, 15 murders and one person was tortured by the Pakistani army.
In February, 95 enforced disappearances, 42 murders and 5 cases of torture were reported. In March, 62 people disappeared, 19 were killed and 6 were tortured. In April, 50 enforced disappearances, 39 murders and 18 cases of torture were reported, the report added.
According to Paank, 187 people who had been forcibly disappeared were released from the Pakistani army’s torture cells last year.
In May, 61 enforced disappearances, 5 murders and 22 cases of torture were reported. In June, 26 people forcibly disappeared and 11 people were murdered. In July, 46 people forcibly disappeared, 16 were killed and 28 were tortured.
In August, 55 enforced disappearances, 5 murders and 37 cases of torture were reported. In September, 30 people were kidnapped, 02 murdered and 19 people tortured.
In October, 38 people forcibly disappeared, 15 were killed and 18 were tortured. In November, 36 people forcibly disappeared, 23 were killed and 14 were tortured. 38 enforced disappearances, 2 murders and 19 tortures in December 2022, according to Paank’s annual report.
According to the report, 2022 was a year of human tragedy in Balochistan with mass punishments, enforced disappearances, killings, massacres and violence.
The Counter-Terrorism Department and the Pakistani Army’s Frontier Corps have subjected hundreds of Balochis, including women and children, to enforced disappearance, collective punishment, killing in fake encounters and torture in various areas in Balochistan and Sindh, the report added.
According to Paank, the families of the victims of enforced disappearances by the army suffer from political isolation in order to compete with the armed forces in Balochistan.
