Berlin conference calls for humanitarian intervention in Balochistan

The Baloch human rights groups gathered in Berlin recently to accentuate the overlooked plight of the people of Balochistan in an attempt to induce the international community to play a more active role in bringing an end to the miseries of the Baloch.

The conference entitled, "A one-day conference on the humanitarian challenges in Balochistan" was held at the Seminar-Mit-Spreeblick and was jointly organised by the Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC), Baloch Human Rights Organization (BHRO) and the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB).

The organisers of the conference presented a detailed account of the prevailing humanitarian crises in Balochistan and the various challenges its people have been facing.

In his opening remarks, Qambar Malik Baloch of BHRC outlined the objectives of the conference and moderated the panel discussion. A short documentary prepared by the Baloch Human Rights Council was played as the conference commenced. The documentary focused on the historical events leading to the existing human rights situation in Balochistan which was followed by detailed presentations by Abdullah Abbas of BHRO, Yousuf Murad of HRCB and Qambar Malik Baloch of BHRC on the cases of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances, the plight of Baloch women and children, and the state-sponsored religious extremism in Balochistan respectively.

The presentations challenged on the basis of reasoning, data and evidence, the state's narrative that claims to have provided the Baloch with all the necessities and amenities of life while blaming the foreign powers for the deteriorating situation in Balochistan.

Other prominent speakers included Hans Noot of Human Rights without Frontiers, Sigrid Krieg of Amnesty International, Hidayat Bhutto of World Sindhi Congress and Fernando Burges of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization who sympathized with the Baloch and stressed that the state of Pakistan should respect and act in compliance with the UN declaration of human rights and other conventions that Pakistan is party to.

According to the panel, the people of Balochistan have been exposed to a systematic and organized campaign of violence by the state authorities of Pakistan resulting in the destruction of their culture, identity and way of life while putting the lives of its people at the risk of annihilation. In recent years, the scale and impact of the atrocities on the people of Balochistan have increased exponentially. Many actions of Pakistan in Balochistan to crush the national aspirations of the Baloch for their right to self-determination, come into the category of crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing.

The conference voiced its concern on the silence of the western countries and organizations championing the cause of human rights on one of the major humanitarian crises in the world and called for humanitarian intervention in Balochistan to bring peace and stability to its people.