US expresses concern over rights violations in Balochistan

Expressing concern over the human rights situation in Balochistan, the US today said it has been consistently asking all parties in Pakistan to work out their differences peaceably and through a "valid political process".
"We do have concerns about the human rights situation in Balochistan," a State Department spokesperson said when asked about allegations of human rights violations in Balochistan.
The spokesperson referred to the reports of grave human rights violations in Balochistan reported by the State Department in its Congressional-mandated annual Human Rights Report.
"However, we have consistently urged all parties in Pakistan to work out their differences peaceably and through a valid political process," the spokesperson said.

In its latest annual human rights report on Pakistan released early this year, State Department had said Pakistani authorities did not allow international organisations access to detention centers most affected by violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and Balochistan.
Provincial governments in Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir permitted some international organisations to monitor civil prisons, but leaders of monitoring organisations noted that their operations were becoming more restricted each year, it had said.