Rights body flags Pakistan's 'inhumane policy' of collective punishment in Balochistan

Quetta, March 24 (IANS) The Baloch National Movement (BNM) on Tuesday accused Pakistan of continuing with the "inhumane policy" of collective punishment across Balochistan.

"Can you imagine that in the 21st century, an entire family is punished for the alleged actions of a single individual? Collective punishment is a practice associated with colonial regimes and authoritarian systems of the past. Yet, in Balochistan, the state of Pakistan continues to implement this inhumane policy -- and has recently even acknowledged it openly," the BNM stated.

Expressing concern, the organisation said that in Balochistan, collective punishment is not merely a theoretical issue but a lived reality of thousands of affected families, with justice and rule of law nearly absent and fundamental human rights systematically violated.

It added that the province has become a "vast prison and, increasingly, a killing field and torture zone."

Highlighting the growing wave of violence across Balochistan, the BNM noted that within just 20 days, as many as 22 Baloch youths were forcibly disappeared from different areas in Panjgur district, subjected to severe torture in custody and killed one by one, with their bodies dumped.

"For many, their only 'crime' was having relatives associated with the Baloch national movement -- or raising their voices for human rights in Europe." It added.

The BNM said that the case of its chairman, Naseem Baloch, demonstrated the policy of "political repression and collective punishment", with his elderly and ill father and two uncles forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces solely because of Naseem's political role.

It noted that the BNM chairman himself had previously been subjected to enforced disappearance and severe torture on two occasions before being forced into exile.

As enforced disappearances and coercion across Balochistan continue to mount, the BNM said that young men, women, and even children are forcibly disappeared on a daily basis, while families are pressured into holding press conferences and forced to publicly disown their relatives.

In many cases, it said, victims are never produced before a court, denied legal representation, and, after months or years in custody, presented to the media for forced confessions.

The BNM called upon the international community, human rights organisations, and global institutions, including the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, to take urgent notice of the human rights abuses in Balochistan, ensure independent investigations, and hold perpetrators accountable.

The organisation also urged the global community to press Pakistani authorities to end enforced disappearances and collective punishment.

"It is a recognised reality that without international attention and intervention, these violations will continue unchecked," the BNM added.

--IANS

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