Geneva : Baloch National Movement’s formal activities at the UN Human Rights Council’s 61st session began today and will continue until 28 March 2026. This statement is issued as part of BNM’s month-long campaign to highlight ongoing human rights abuses in Balochistan.
Today, Saleem Ellahi Baloch addressed the Council, speaking both as an activist and as a brother. He recounted the enforced disappearance of his elder brother, Zahid Baloch, former Chairman of BSO Azad, who was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani security forces on 18 March 2014 and has not been produced before any civil court since. Saleem also recalled the assassination of his brother, Shah Jahan, in 2025, and raised urgent concerns about the continued illegal detention of activists such as Mahrang Baloch and leaders associated with the Baloch Yakjehti Committee.
Here is complete text of his speech :
Mr President,
I appear before you not just as a witness, but as a brother. My elder brother, Zahid Baloch, former Chairman of the Baloch Students Organization (Azad), was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani security forces on 18th March 2014. It has been 12 years, yet he has never been presented before any civil court, nor has our family been informed about his wellbeing.
But my family’s pain did not end there. Collective punishment is one of many tactics being used by the State to suppress political voices. On 15th March 2025, another elder brother, Shah Jahan, was assassinated by state-sponsored death squads in retaliation for my political activism. His assassination was deliberate and intended as a message to anyone who dares to speak out against injustice in Balochistan.
Recently Chief Minister of Balochistan Sarfaraz Bugti Openly Mentioned in a Press Conference, State will confiscate assets and impose travel ban to family members of political activists in the name of so-called counter Terrorism Act. Mr President, Families of the forcibly disappeared are being displaced, their homes being destroyed, and their assets seized and controlled by the military. These tactics are designed solely to silence those who raise their voices for their loved ones.
Human rights violations in Balochistan are escalating at an alarming pace. Political and human rights activists are being silenced in brutal and inhumane ways. Mahrang Baloch, human rights activist, is still imprisoned along with other BYC activists on fabricated charges.
Mr President, I hope this Council will take immediate action to pressurize Pakistan to stop its inhumane tactics in Balochistan.
Thank you.
