– by Pratyusha Mukherjee
The self declared Republic of Balochistan has strongly condemned the alleged mass arrests of Baloch civilians and the forced displacement of thousands of families in Qalat, Shor Parod and adjoining areas, accusing the Pakistani Army of state terrorism and violations of fundamental human rights.
In a statement dated Wednesday, October 21, the self styled Republic of Balochistan alleged that approximately 50,000 civilians belonging to 5,000 Baloch families had been subjected to forced arrests and faced the threat of eviction from their ancestral settlements. It demanded the withdrawal of Pakistani military forces from Balochistan, calling on Pakistan to return its troops to Punjab.
The statement warned that continued military action and alleged retaliatory measures against the Baloch population would prompt resistance at political, diplomatic and public levels across the region. It described restrictions on freedom of movement, the destruction of businesses, the seizure of ancestral lands and the forced removal of residents from their homes as serious violations of human rights and human dignity.
According to the statement, the deployment of Pakistani troops and the assertion of state ownership over the ancestral lands of the Baloch people violate international law and Balochistan’s laws. It further alleged that Pakistan’s military presence remains a major obstacle to peace, stability, security and development in the region.
The statement also recalled previous attempts to restrict access to local areas through barbed-wire fencing around Gwadar, claiming that public opposition had forced those efforts to fail.
Concerns over winter conditions:
The alleged arrests and displacement measures in Qalat, Shor Parod, Khuzdar and neighbouring areas have heightened concerns about the safety of affected families, the statement said. It accused the Pakistani authorities of attempting to force residents from their homes at gunpoint and confine them in large military cantonments.
Highlighting the approaching winter, the Republic of Balochistan warned that the situation could pose severe risks to civilians, particularly women, children and elderly people. Temperatures in Qalat and Shor Parod reportedly fall below freezing, raising concerns about the consequences of displacement without adequate shelter, food and other essential supplies.
Describing the alleged actions as tantamount to collective genocide, the statement called on the United Nations, international human rights organisations and the wider international community to intervene urgently and take effective measures to protect the affected families.
Balochistan calls for international intervention:
The Republic of Balochistan further asserted that Pakistan had lost the ground-level conflict in Balochistan and claimed that the Baloch population had rejected what it described as an illegal occupation.
Drawing a parallel with the 1971 atrocities against Bengalis in what was then East Pakistan, the statement accused Pakistan of repeating a similar pattern of violence in Balochistan. It declared that the region’s approximately 60 million people were prepared to defend their homeland against what it described as foreign occupation.
The statement concluded with a pledge that the Baloch people would defend their territory and continue their efforts to remove Pakistani military forces from the region.
The statement was issued in the name of the self declared Republic of Balochistan by Mir Yar Baloch.
