At UN, Baloch activist raises concern about rights violation in Pakistan

Munir Mengal, a Baloch political and human rights activist on Tuesday raised concerns about the violation of the ongoing rights against minority communities in Pakistan.

Speaking at the 49th session of UN Human Rights Council, Munir said, "No amount of violence and no amount of brutality, no amount of regression can crush the people's desire for the basic right to freedom. Since 1948, Pakistan with a colonial mindset has unleashed a might on the people of Balochistan who refuse to surrender their most basic right --- the right to regain their sovereignty on their land."

The Baloch rights activist said the brutality of the Pakistani state has led to an unending tragedy for the people of Balochistan.

"The family members, the civil society representatives and students are continuously rallying at press clubs at Quetta, Karachi and Islamabad for the safe release of victims of enforced disappearances," he added.

Citing the reports of the human rights group, Munir said thousands of Baloch are victims of enforced disappearances including Baloch women and infants. "The practice of disappearing by force, extrajudicial killings and target killing are done in Balochistan systematically on daily basis with impunity."

Notably, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) earlier had expressed alarm over reports of a fresh wave of enforced disappearances in Balochistan and the rest of Pakistan, including most recently, Hafeez Baloch, a postgraduate student at the university in Islamabad.

Experts believe that the missing persons may be dead or their mutilated bodies dumped into ditches and may be locked in some detention centers.

The 49th regular session of the Human Rights Council started on February 28 and will continue till April 1.

(ANI)