Busan, South Korea — The Baloch National Movement (BNM) South Korea Chapter organized a protest in front of Busan Station to oppose the fencing of Gwadar city in Balochistan. Protesters carried banners and placards highlighting the adverse effects of the fencing on the region, emphasizing the threats to livelihoods and security for local residents.
The protest aimed to draw attention to the plight of those affected by enforced disappearances and other human rights violations by security forces in Balochistan. Demonstrators asserted that the fencing project serves the interests of external collaborators, violating the rights of indigenous residents.
Agha Faiz, one of the speakers at the protest, addressed the crowd, raising awareness about the situation in Balochistan. “Today we gather here on the call of the Baloch National Movement to oppose the Pakistani state’s attempt to imprison Gwadar’s residents with this fencing project,” Faiz stated. “We belong to a nation called Baloch, occupied by Pakistan. Our people are killed and abducted daily by state forces. We reject the so-called Islamic state of Pakistan’s slavery.”
The protesters argued that the fencing of Gwadar is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which they described as a colonial project aimed at handing over Gwadar to China. They claimed that since the launch of CPEC, local Gwadar residents have faced harassment designed to displace them from their native land.
Previously, Gwadar was encircled by military cantonments, check posts, and camps. Now, the entire city is being fenced off, which protesters contend is a gross violation of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Hundreds of pamphlets were distributed during the protest, detailing the impact of Gwadar’s fencing on the local Baloch population, heightening fear due to increased security controls over indigenous people.