We are aware of mass graves in Balochistan: UK Minister

The British government is aware of the presence of mass graves in Balochistan, said Minister of State Affairs at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development Nigel Adams.

Adams said: "We are aware of reports of mass graves in Khuzdar, Turbat and Dera Bugti in Balochistan. These would be of deep concern to the British government."

He said that all states have the responsibility to meet human rights obligations for all including the right to life. "The British government regularly raises its concerns about human rights at the highest levels of the Government of Pakistan," he said in a reply.

He noted that the British Government regularly raises concerns with the Pakistan Government at a senior level on the vital need to respect human rights and the rule of law.

He also recalled Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth, who had raised concerns over the issue of grave concern with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister in February this year.

Adams made these remarks in reply to written questions asked by a member of British Parliament, Labour Party MP for Portsmouth (South) Stephen Morgan, who has asked several questions on worsening human rights situation in Balochistan.

Morgan also asked if the Government of Pakistan has been using weapons bought from the UK against the Baloch people.

Adams replied, "All export licences are strictly assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. Risks around human rights abuses are a key part of our assessment."

Another Conservative MP, Heather Wheeler said in a written response to Morgan that the UK regularly raises concerns about the human rights situation with Pakistan at a senior level.

Political activists and representatives of Balochistan also raised the issue of worsening human rights situation in Balochistan at the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Fazal-Ur Rehman Afridi, a Pashtun political activist, told the Council that "In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistan Army has unleashed a reign of terror against innocent people with impunity."

The Pakistani army has been using the land of Balochistan to nurture terrorist groups that try to stall the process of Baloch Nationalism, according to the Baloch Human Rights Commission (BHRC).