LONDON(England): The Baloch Human Rights Council has urged the United Nations to take action in the ongoing crisis in Pakistan’s Balochistan province where security forces are allegedly killing and abducting Baloch people.
Recently, the Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC), an organization dedicated to advocating for Baloch people, submitted a written statement to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres through the Center for Gender Justice and Women Empowerment.
On several occasions in the past, Baloch activists and organizations have appealed to the international community for intervention.
The BHRC statement raised serious concerns about the ongoing exploitation of Balochistan’s resources by Pakistan and the increasing encroachment by China during the 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
BHRC submits written statement to UN on Pakistan’s imposition of religious extremism in Balochistan https://t.co/RL4vYz718q
— Baloch Human Rights Council (@BALOCHHRC) August 16, 2024
It has called for urgent intervention to address the current economic and humanitarian crisis in the Balochistan region. According to BHRC, despite its rich mineral resources and valuable coastline, Balochistan remains economically underdeveloped.
The region suffers from poor infrastructure, inadequate educational facilities, and insufficient healthcare, resulting in widespread poverty and unemployment.
The systematic exploitation of Balochistan’s natural resources by Pakistan, coupled with China’s growing involvement as a colonial force, has exacerbated these challenges and inflicted unprecedented suffering on the local population, the statement said.
Pakistan ceded strategic control of the coastal city of Gwadar to China, enabling mega projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The BHRC Stated although marketed as development initiatives beneficial to the Baloch people, these projects primarily serve the economic and strategic interests of Pakistan and China, offering minimal to no benefits to the local population. The implementation of CPEC has led to mass displacement, environmental degradation, and rising concerns about the erosion of Balochistan’s cultural identity, demographic balance, and autonomy.
China’s exploitation of Balochistan resources has been extensive, depleting precious minerals such as gold, platinum, and uranium from the Chagai district. In Gwadar, China has constructed a deep-sea port and an international airport, with extensive fencing around the area, effectively turning parts of Balochistan into restricted zones for its indigenous people, BHRC stated.
The BHRC also condemned the forced displacement and destruction of hundreds of villages by the Pakistani military to secure the CPEC route, which has resulted in the internal displacement of nearly a million Baloch inhabitants.
It further emphasized that CPEC is not a development initiative but rather a “corridor of death and destruction” for the Baloch people.
“It represents resource exploitation enforced through military aggression and stands as a modern manifestation of socialist colonialism. This exploitation and repression directly violate the UN Charter, which condemns all forms of colonialism,” it stated.
The BHRC called on the United Nations to take immediate and decisive action to end the neo-colonial plundering of Balochistan’s resources and to restore the rights and dignity of the Baloch people. (ANI)