Turbat [Pakistan], December 29 (ANI): Balochistan, Pakistan’s most marginalized province, continues to reel under systemic oppression, with mounting protests exposing the state’s brutal policies.
Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch recently took to the social media platform ‘X’ to condemn Pakistan’s treatment of the region, describing it as a “colony where oppression and barbarity are enforced instead of constitution and law.”
Her remarks highlight the intensifying policy of Baloch “genocide” which has left the region in turmoil. Across Balochistan, families and communities are staging sit-ins to demand justice for victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
بلوچستان ریاستِ پاکستان کی وہ کالونی ہے جہاں آئین و قانون کی بجائے جبر و بربریت نافذ ہے، اور بلوچ نسل کشی کی پالیسی میں دن بدن شدت لائی جارہی ہے۔
ظریف بلوچ کے ماورائے عدالت قتل کے خلاف تربت کے فدا چوک میں دھرنا جاری ہے۔
قلات میں جبری گمشدگی کے شکار اختر شاہ کے خاندان کے افراد… pic.twitter.com/Gr67MhaVMT
— Mahrang Baloch (@MahrangBaloch_) December 29, 2024
In Turbat, protesters have gathered at Fida Chowk to decry the extrajudicial killing of Zarif Baloch, an incident emblematic of the state’s unchecked brutality. Similarly, in Kalat, the family of Akhtar Shah, a victim of enforced disappearance, has braved freezing temperatures of minus 10 degrees to stage a 48-hour sit-in on the main highway, demanding his safe return, she said in the post.
Adding to the region’s anguish, Zubair Baloch, a university student, was reportedly abducted on Saturday night by Pakistan’s state forces and intelligence agencies in Hub Chowki. His family, desperate for answers, has launched a protest in Hoshab, calling for accountability and justice.
The wave of protests across Balochistan reflects the people’s demand for their basic right to live freely on their own land. Despite decades of systemic neglect, enforced disappearances, and state-sponsored violence, the Pakistani government has shown little willingness to address the grievances of the Baloch people.
Activists and human rights organizations have long accused Pakistan of perpetrating a silent genocide in Balochistan. The region’s rich natural resources have been exploited for decades, while its people are subjected to extreme poverty, displacement, and suppression.
The international community must take note of the dire situation in Balochistan, where human rights violations are a daily reality. As protests intensify, Pakistan faces growing scrutiny for its actions in the province, which starkly contrast with its claims of upholding democracy and the rule of law.
Balochistan’s struggle for justice and autonomy remains a glaring indictment of Pakistan’s oppressive policies and a rallying cry for global intervention. (ANI)
