Quetta, Jan 20 (NationPress) The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has declared its plan to observe 'Baloch Genocide Remembrance Day' on January 25. This human rights organization has called upon the Baloch community globally to engage in protests, seminars, press briefings, video messages, panel discussions, and to take part in TV programs, podcasts, webinars, as well as cultural and artistic events to honor this significant day.

In their announcement via X, the BYC emphasized that events will occur throughout Balochistan and internationally on January 25 to commemorate Baloch Genocide Remembrance Day. They asserted that the genocide of the Baloch people commenced from the very first day they faced persecution due to their identity.

The rights group articulated, "Genocide is not confined to direct mass killings only. It can also take the form of a slow, systematic, and quiet process that gradually obliterates a people's identity, existence, and way of life. When a nation is targeted for who they are, they suffer not only from executions and enforced disappearances but also from deliberate neglect, disease, unsafe living conditions, economic deprivation, and psychological terror."

The BYC accused that this genocide manifests through targeted killings, enforced disappearances, drone strikes, healthcare denial, economic exploitation, the spread of cancer and other terminal illnesses, and pervasive psychological torture.

"In January 2024, during a historic assembly at Saryab Shahwani Stadium, January 25 was officially recognized as Baloch Genocide Remembrance Day. This day aims to raise awareness about the ongoing genocide of the Baloch people and to underscore the urgent need for a collective effort to ensure the survival of the Baloch nation," the BYC statement read.

"January 25 marks the sorrowful event of January 25, 2014, when over 100 mutilated bodies of forcibly disappeared Baloch youths were discovered in an abandoned secret camp associated with Pakistani intelligence-backed militias (death squads) in the Totak region of Balochistan. This appalling revelation has left a permanent scar in the collective memory of the Baloch people," it added.

The rights group noted that this incident continues to haunt the Baloch community. They indicated that the mass graves in Totak symbolize this tragedy while families await the identification of their missing loved ones. Furthermore, they mentioned that several other mass graves have been found beyond Totak in Balochistan.

In the statement, the BYC remarked, "That is why January 25 symbolically embodies all these acts of genocide. The bodies uncovered from mass graves share one identity: they are Baloch. Each year, these bodies revive the anguish of waiting for numerous families. Following this declaration, last year the Baloch nation convened a significant gathering in Dalbandin, located in a resource-rich area of Balochistan, and conveyed a clear message to the world: the Baloch nation faces genocide for the exploitation of its land and resources, yet we remain united against it."

Balochistan has been suffering from continuous atrocities perpetrated by Pakistani authorities, who enable death squads in the region to carry out enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and illegal detentions of Baloch individuals.