Busan: The BNM-SK Chapter organized a protest in Busan city on May 28, 2023, to mark the 23rd anniversary of Pakistan’s nuclear tests on Baloch land in the Chaghi region. The protest aimed to raise awareness of the aftermath and impact of the tests on the local people and the environment.
On May 28, 1998, Pakistan conducted a series of nuclear tests in the Chaghi region without taking adequate measures to protect the safety and well-being of the local populations and the environment. The tests resulted in widespread radioactive contamination and environmental degradation. The people of Chaghi and surrounding areas have suffered from deadly diseases and genetic disorders for decades.
The protesters distributed pamphlets to the public about the effects of the nuclear tests and chanted slogans against Pakistan.
They also expressed concerns about the impacts of the nuclear tests in Korean and English.
Among the protesters, Hafsa Baloch delivered a speech. She said, “Today, on behalf of BNM, we are protesting in Busan city against Pakistan’s nuclear tests in Balochistan in 1998. The tests were conducted on May 28 and May 30 at Ras Koh Mountain in the Chaghi region. The impact of the tests badly damaged the entire region. After the tests, the entire region and surrounding areas remained radioactive for decades. Until today, people are facing deadly diseases and children are born with genetic diseases such as facial deformities, eye diseases, skin cancer and other health problems. The most disastrous thing is that the soil, the environment and the ecosystem of the region have been badly destroyed due to the radioactive contamination from the nuclear tests. The land has been completely deserted and ruined.”
She also said in her speech, “We want the International Atomic Energy Agency to send their experts to the Chaghi region in Balochistan to investigate and assess the impacts of the deadly nuclear test that has destroyed the land with radioactive radiation and made the people of Chaghi suffer for decades.” At the end of the protest, little children also participated by distributing pamphlets, which attracted the public and made them express their solidarity with the people of Balochistan against the nuclear tests by Pakistan.