Baloch activists stage protest in Netherlands, highlight Pakistan's growing brutality

Amsterdam, Oct 22 (IANS) The Baloch National Movement (BNM) on Wednesday held a protest in the Netherlands' Utrecht city, condemning aggression by the Pakistani Army in the Zehri region of Balochistan.

The demonstration denounced brutal military raids on homes and drone attacks in Zehri that killed several people, including women and children.

The protest was attended by members of the BNM and human rights activists who carried placards and banners bearing slogans against the Pakistani Army’s aggression, enforced disappearances, and widespread human rights violations in Balochistan.

The BNM mentioned that for several days, a strict curfew has reportedly been imposed by the Pakistani Army in Zehri, and nearby areas.

“Hundreds of civilians have been forcibly disappeared. Homes have been raided, residents abducted, and civilian movement completely restricted. Meanwhile, media access and internet services have been suspended, making it extremely difficult to obtain accurate information from the affected regions," read a statement issued by the BNM.

During the protest, the speakers emphasised that decades of Pakistani military aggression in Balochistan have destroyed thousands of families, while international institutions continue to remain silent.

This silence, they said, has emboldened the aggressors to commit further atrocities. They warned that if the global community does not act promptly, the situation could become even more catastrophic.

On Tuesday, the BNM organised an awareness campaign outside the White House in the United States, where activists distributed pamphlets highlighting the ongoing human rights violations and the deteriorating situation in Zehri.

The pamphlet distributed by BNM described Pakistan as a “terrorist state” that exploits the natural resources of the Baloch and other oppressed nations. It accused the Pakistani state of selling Balochistan’s geostrategic importance and wealth for international political and economic gain — a key reason, it said, why Western powers remain silent about the crimes committed by Pakistan’s military and political elite.

“This inhuman complicity must come to an end,” the pamphlet declared.

The BNM reaffirmed its commitment to continue its peaceful and democratic struggle to raise international awareness about the situation in Balochistan and to expose Pakistan's ongoing atrocities against the Baloch people.

Additionally, the BNM also held a protest in Hanover city in Germany, against Pakistan’s ongoing military aggressions, drone strikes, and severe human rights violations in Balochistan.

The protesters carried banners and placards demanding justice for the victims and an immediate end to military aggression.

Highlighting the atrocities in Zehri, the BNM stated that the region has been under continuous bombardment for over a month, with communications cut off, curfews imposed, and humanitarian access blocked.

They called on the European Union, the United Nations, and other international organisations to send a fact-finding mission to the area.

--IANS

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