London/Hanover, Oct 22 (NVI) Baloch National Movement (BNM) has held demonstrations in London and Berlin to highlight the human rights violations by the Pakistani military, which has been bombarding residential houses and arbitrarily killing civilians, including children and women, in Zehri town of Khuzdar district in occupied Balochistan.
Pakistani military has been resorting to aerial bombing and heavy artillery shelling in its desperate bid to re-occupy Zehri, which has been under the control of Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS), a conglomerate of various freedom-seeking Baloch armed groups, since August 11.
While the BRAS fighters have been repulsing repeated advances of the Pakistani military, the latter has been resorting to aerial strikes, killing civilians, including children and women.
Recently, 6 civilians, including 4 children, were killed and several houses were destroyed in the Pakistani airstrikes on Zehri.
Observers see this as a tactic by the Pakistani military to punish ordinary civilians since it is unable to reclaim Zehri from the nationalist armed groups.
In London, the BNM organized a day-long awareness campaign and protest against the siege of Zehri, drawing attention to Pakistan’s military operations and the deteriorating human rights situation in the Zehri area of occupied Balochistan.
The participants in the protest referred to the six civilian killings in the Pakistani army airstrikes in Zehri in October and termed these actions as ‘State crimes’ by Pakistan.
BNM said the ‘Punjabi army’s’ operations have kept Zehri and its surrounding areas (Nechara, Pandran, Kumbi and Bulbul) under a tight siege for over a month, with curfew and lockdown imposed, depriving the citizens of food, clean water and medical facilities.
BNM UK President Manzoor Baloch, Foreign Secretary Fahim Baloch, Foreign Department Coordinator Niaz Baloch, Ilyas, Yasin, Asif, Manzoor Hussain, Salar, Balach, Abdullah, Fahad and others addressed the protest rally.
They said the current situation amounted to ‘collective punishment’ and violations of international humanitarian law.
BNM demanded that the UK immediately suspend financial and military assistance to Pakistan, and an ‘independent international investigation’ be conducted into the civilian deaths and enforced disappearances in Zehri and across Balochistan.
The main protest was held outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, while awareness campaigns were also held throughout the day in Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square, where participants distributed pamphlets and presented BNM messages to the public.
Youth and children also participated in the demonstration and expressed their views through public speeches.
BNM asked the international community, especially the United Kingdom, to look closely at human rights issues in Balochistan and review relations with Pakistan that are directly or indirectly contributing to human rights violations.
The speakers said the ‘Punjabi army’ (reference to Pakistan Army) carried out air and ground attacks in Zehri tehsil of Khuzdar district of occupied Balochistan, in which women and children were also killed, while houses and villages were destroyed.
According to them, Zehri has been under continuous bombardment for more than a month, where communications are cut off, curfew is in force and access to humanitarian aid is limited.
The protesters demanded that the European Union, the United Nations and other international organizations send a mission to the area to find out the facts.
The protest meetings were addressed by BNM leaders based in Germany — Shar Hassan Baloch (President Germany), Safia Baloch (Vice President), Shelly Baloch (Joint Secretary), Jabbar Baloch, Sami Baloch, Luqman Baloch, Hamad Baloch, Sara Baloch, Mujeeb Abdullah Baloch, Akbar Sabz, Salam Baloch and Safia Gohar.
The speakers condemned Pakistan’s military operations, enforced disappearances and drone strikes, calling them collective punishment against the Baloch people.
They said that Zehri had been turned into a “killing ground” and appealed to the United Nations, the European Union and human rights organizations to intervene immediately.
The speakers stressed that the Baloch struggle is for justice, dignity and the right to self-determination.
Several speakers cited recent incidents in which drone strikes and helicopter shelling killed scores of civilians in and around Zehri.
According to them, these attacks are part of a broader pattern of repression by the Punjabi state against the Baloch people that has been going on for years.
The speakers also said that the ‘Punjabi army’ is trying to justify its actions by resorting to religious and nationalist slogans.
The Baloch National Movement appealed to international human rights organizations to hold Pakistan accountable for these atrocities, to pressure Islamabad (Political Government) and Rawalpindi (Military authority) to end the ongoing campaign of genocide against the Baloch people.
At the end of the demonstration, participants pledged to continue their struggle for justice, freedom and human dignity.
One speaker said: “The silence of the world is deepening our wounds every day, now this silence must be broken.” (NVI)
