Dear journalists, political activists and audience on Twitter, thank you all for taking the time to listen to us.
The actions of the Pakistani army in Balochistan are a matter of daily life, every day some people in some corner of Balochistan are being victimized by the atrocities of the Pakistani army. Social, economic and political freedoms have been taken away since Pakistan occupied Balochistan on March 27, 1948, but now Baloch people are also being deprived of their lives. Enforced disappearance is a crime recognized by the United Nations. Most nations of the world have declared it a crime.
The International Criminal Court clarified on July 1, 2002 that systematic action against any civilian population in which people disappear after abduction constitutes enforced disappearance and is a crime against humanity. On 20 December 2006, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Therefore, we expect the entire international community to support the Baloch nation to bring the “criminal state of Pakistan and its army” to justice. As the United Nations itself believes that forced disappearances is not a crime against a single nation, individual or group, but a crime against the entire humanity, so it is the responsibility of this credible organization to take concrete and effective action against its member country ‘Pakistan’ while maintaining its reputation and commitment.
Because Pakistan is a criminal against humanity, every month dozens of Baloch people are detained and forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani army, in which many people are released after being tortured. Thousands of people have been forcibly disappeared under the custody of the Pakistani army and hundreds of people have been killed and their bodies thrown away during detention and this process has been going on in Balochistan for decades. Due to non-existence, Pakistan was able to hide these crimes from the eyes of the world, but now it is not possible to hide these crimes due to the communication revolution. There is irrefutable evidence of enforced disappearances, so if the international organizations remain silent on this issue, this silence will be in support of Pakistan And it will get the message that the international organizations will not hold it accountable for its ‘crimes against humanity’, so it will use more force against the Baloch and the already bad situation will get worse.
Yesterday we witnessed the worst of the extrajudicial ‘custodial killings’ of enforced disappearances. The Pakistan Army has committed an act that may have precedents in its history, but it is difficult to find such precedents in modern states. A professional state army which the Pakistan Army always claims is what the world expects to perform its duties within the confines of its state laws. This is what is expected from any force to uphold the law, but to expect anything positive from the Pakistan Army is to deceive yourself. The Baloch Liberation Army captured and killed Pakistani Army Lt. Col. Laiq Baig Mirza on July 14. In response, the Pakistani army extrajudicially killed 9 enforced disappeared persons in their torture cells through fake encounters, claiming that these persons were involved in the abduction and killing of Colonel Laiq Baig in Ziyarat.
Among these people, six people have been identified so far, Sha baksh , Shahzad son of Khuda bakhsh Dhewar was forcibly disappeared from Shaal by the Pakistani army on June 4, 2022, Salim son of Karim was a student of Panjgur district. He was forcibly disappeared after his arrest while he was on his way to Shaal. Physiotherapist Dr. Mukhtiar Baloch was detained and forcibly disappeared from Shaal on 11 June 2022 by Pakistan Army, Engineer and teacher Zaheer Baloch son of Mohammad Akbar forcibly disappeared by Pakistani Army on 7 October 2021.While Shams Satakzahi was abducted by Pakistani Army for the past five years, he was detained by the Pakistani army in 2017.
We have concrete evidence that all these persons were enforced disappearances and were under the custody of the ‘Pakistani Army’. They were ‘martyred’ by the Pakistani army by linking them to the abduction of colonel Laiq Baig so that on the one hand they can raise the morale of their soldiers that if the army is not capable of protecting them then it is capable of immediate revenge on them and on the other hand the aim is to provide falsified evidence to the Pakistani state’s narrative that the missing persons are not in ‘Pakistani Army custody’ but in the mountains.
International human rights organizations also recognize that enforced disappearances in Balochistan are a fact that cannot be denied.The heads of administrative, security institutions and judiciary in Pakistan have expressed in various forums that Baloch national political activists are being forcibly disappeared because they are associated with the struggle for independence of Balochistan. Pakistan’s proxy Politician in Balochistan have repeatedly said that the issue of enforced disappearances is related to the independence movement of Balochistan.The Pakistani army has convinced the so-called civil government and the judiciary of its state that it is necessary for the ‘survival of Pakistan’ to force the disappearance of the Baloch because the Pakistani army is incapable of proving the allegations against them in court. Therefore, the government of Pakistan and the judiciary have given an open exemption to the Pakistani army for forced disappearances.
In these circumstances, only the international organizations and the international community can stop Pakistan. Today, Pakistan is on the verge of economic bankruptcy and is reaching out to the world for help. Whenever Pakistan received financial support from the international community, its army used this support against the Baloch people.Today, other financial institutions and countries, including the IMF, must also ensure that the country receiving aid from them is not involved in crimes against humanity. Are these crimes of Pakistan not enough that the international community should impose financial sanctions on it to punish it for what it has done?
Through this press conference, we appeal to all the international financial institutions, all the member countries of the United Nations and especially Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the IMF, to refrain from financial assistance to Pakistan and to pressure it to take action in Balochistan. End the series of enforced disappearances immediately by bringing the disappeared persons to the fore.
Pakistani army uses international aid against humanity, IMF should not provide financial support. BNM press conference
Information Secretary of Baloch National Movement, Qazi Dad Mohammad Rehan, in a press conference held in the background of the tragedy of Ziyarat, has appealed to the Managing Director of IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, that since Pakistan is committing serious violations of human rights in Balochistan, Other financial institutions, including the IMF not provide financial support to Pakistan.
Qazi Dad Mohammad Rehan
Information and Cultural Secretary