Quetta, Aug 9 (IANS) Leading Baloch human rights defender, Mir Yar Baloch on Saturday slammed Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for highlighting the plight of the Palestinian people while at the same time, conveniently concealing its own “brutal terrorism” and decades-long war against the people of Balochistan at home.
Pakistan, Baloch mentioned, lectures the world about justice, humanitarian rights, and the plight of the Palestinian people but is indulging in massive human rights violations in the province of Balochistan.
His remarks came after Sharif took to his social media, condemning the Israeli cabinet’s approval of a plan to take control of Gaza City, describing it as illegal and illegitimate.
“Pakistan’s hypocrisy is glaring: it sheds crocodile tears for Palestinians while crushing the Baloch people’s struggle for independence with unparalleled brutality and state terrorism. If Islamabad truly believed in the principles of freedom, justice, and human rights, it would first end its illegal occupation of Balochistan and allow the Baloch people to decide their own future in peace,” Mir posted on X.
The human rights activist asserted that the Pakistan’s “occupational forces” are committing the very crimes it accuses Israel of, including forced internal displacement of entire villages, systematic subjugation, extrajudicial killings, aerial bombardments of civilian areas, mass enforced disappearances, cultural erasure, and the deliberate destruction of livelihoods in Balochistan.
“Just as Pakistan demands ‘international intervention’ in Gaza, it has sealed Balochistan off from international humanitarian organisations, journalists, and human rights observers, ensuring that its crimes remain hidden from the world. No foreign aid is allowed, no UN fact-finding missions are permitted, and no independent humanitarian assistance reaches those suffering under its military siege,” Mir said.
“No access to the internet is available to the 60 million Baloch people as an illegal notice is issued by the rogue military of Pakistan,” he stated.
Mir emphasised that the world must recognise Pakistan’s moral posturing on Palestine is nothing more than a smokescreen to deflect attention from its own “war crimes” in Balochistan. Just as it calls for the protection of innocent civilians in Gaza, he stated that the same call must be made for the people of Balochistan, who have endured over “seven decades of military oppression” without international relief.
–IANS
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