London: Baloch activists hold awareness campaign to highlight issue of missing persons

Baloch Republican Party (BRP) workers held a seven-day awareness campaign outside the United Kingdom Prime Minister's office in London to highlight the unending killings, enforced disappearances, and alleged human rights violations in Balochistan.

BRP central spokesman Sher Mohammad Bugti said in a statement that the campaign started on January 19 and came to an end with a protest demonstration on January 26. On the last day of the campaign, the demonstration was joined by the activists of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) and Free Balochistan Movement (FBM).

While addressing the protesters, BRP central leader Mansoor Baloch urged the UK government to take notice of human rights violations in Balochistan and pressurise the Pakistan government for releasing hundreds of Baloch missing persons reportedly lodged there.

Meanwhile, FBM leader Faiz Mohammad Baloch said that the UK should halt any kind of funds or aid to Pakistan army, adding that the latter has created many religious groups that are allegedly being used to suppress the voice of the oppressed such as Pashtun, Sindhi, and Baloch.

London-based PTM activist Falak Niyaz Khan expressed solidarity with BRP activists on a successful awareness campaign and said that Pashtuns were going through a similar phase.

"Pashtuns are also missing in the thousands, hence we feel the pain of the Baloch people. The demands of the Baloch and Pashtun people are not outside the circle of Pakistan's constitution; rather, the Baloch and Pashtun are simply asking for the basic right to their resources, hence are being disappeared at the hands of the Pakistan army," he added.

Bugti thanked the activists of FBM and PTM and said the BRP will continue to raise the plight of Baloch at every possible forum.

He further said that Pakistan's policy of abductions and killing has completely failed, adding that Baloch will not back off from their basic demands and will appeal to all European Union member states to take cognizance of the gross human rights violations and take practical steps to put an end to it.