Why Did the Rights Body Condemn the Extrajudicial Killing of Baloch Activist?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Zubair Baloch was a prominent political activist and former BSO chairman.
- The incident represents a severe violation of human rights.
- The BYC calls for action against ongoing oppression in Balochistan.
- Extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances have become routine in the region.
- International condemnation highlights the need for accountability.
Quetta, Sep 25 (NationPress) A prominent human rights organization on Thursday vehemently denounced the extrajudicial killing of political activist and former Chairman of the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO) Zubair Baloch by Pakistani forces in the city of Dalbandin, Balochistan.
Reports indicate that the Pakistani Army and state-sponsored death squads launched a severe attack on Zubair's home, leading to his tragic demise.
This shocking event has provoked harsh criticism from individuals and human rights groups globally.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) stated that Zubair was not only a political activist and former BSO chairman but also a lawyer and a prominent voice who consistently opposed human rights violations, enforced disappearances, and breaches of the fundamental rights of the Baloch people.
The rights organization characterized this brutal act as part of an ongoing policy of Baloch genocide and the severe oppression faced by Baloch political activists in Pakistan.
“This devastating incident is part of the continuous cycle of state oppression and brutality in Balochistan, illustrating that the state is intensifying its strategy of silencing political voices through violence instead of dialogue. In recent years, Balochistan has sadly become a slaughterhouse,” read the statement from the BYC.
It further remarked that the enforced disappearances of political activists, false accusations against them, intimidation, and extrajudicial killings have become commonplace.
“In just one week, four individuals were killed in staged encounters, three were returned after enforced disappearances as mutilated bodies, and now a claim of a fabricated encounter is being used to justify Zubair Baloch's extrajudicial murder,” the statement concluded.
The BYC called upon the Baloch populace to speak out against the oppression inflicted by Pakistani authorities.
It emphasized that silence in the face of such atrocities amounts to collective demise, as the state aims for the Baloch people to remain quiet about their suffering.
Condemning Zubair's brutal murder, Taran Chand, President of the Baloch American Congress, asserted that the Pakistani military and state institutions cannot tolerate the peaceful advocacy of Baloch activists and strive to force them to abandon their efforts.
Posting on X, the Baloch leader said, “By invading his home in Dalbandin, Balochistan, and brutally killing him, Pakistani military agencies have demonstrated that they will pursue and execute Baloch political activists wherever they may be — at home, on the street, in the market, or at work.”