Pakistan can no longer hide its crimes against humanity: Baloch activist

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Highlighting growing atrocities committed on the people of Balochistan by the Pakistani authorities, Baloch activist Bhawal Mengal said, "Pakistan can no longer hide its crimes against humanity."

"The world will always stand by the righteous. Pakistan has failed to suppress the truth." Mengal, a member of the World Baloch Organisation (WBO), said in a tweet.

The comments come in the backdrop of the third phase of the WBO's FreeBalochistan advertising campaign, which Islamabad has dubbed "malicious" and "anti-Pakistan."

More than 100 London buses are carrying adverts that say "Free Balochistan", "Save The Baloch People" and "Stop Enforced Disappearances".

Mengal had earlier stated that the third phase of our London campaign continues to raise awareness about Pakistan's human right abuses in Balochistan and the right of the Baloch people to self-determination.

"We started with taxi adverts, then did roadside billboards and now we are advertising on London buses. The attempts by the Pakistan Government to pressure the UK to ban our adverts have failed," he added.

Pakistan had pressurised the British Government to remove the WBO's adverts. Indeed, within 24 hours, Transport for London ordered the removal of the taxi adverts, though the billboards remained because they were not on TfL property.

Another leading WBO human rights campaigner, Noordin Mengal, said, "Balochistan was previously a British protectorate that was granted independence in 1947. It was forcefully annexed by Pakistan in 1948 and has been militarily occupied ever since. The people of Balochistan have been denied the right to self-determination, contrary to the UN Charter. The World Baloch Organisation is a peaceful, lawful lobby against Pakistan's war crimes and human rights abuses in Balochistan.