Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar has admitted in a recent interview the issues plaguing the Balochistan province, particularly the challenge of facilitating the return of missing persons.
Hundreds of Baloch protesters have protested in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad in recent weeks against heavy-handed treatment of those in the province, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
Despite threats, crackdowns, and the closure of public spaces, people came in huge numbers to participate in a Quetta rally on Saturday which was organised by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee. This rally, one of the largest in Quetta’s history, aimed to raise awareness about the “Baloch genocide.”
“It is not 1948, but *2024. And this is not Bangladesh, but Balochistan.”Dr. Mahrang Baloch, the leader of Baloch Yakjehti Committee under whose supervision this march is led, is talking about the human rights abuses in Balochistan by the State.
She states, unity and… pic.twitter.com/YMGU8Aa2vz
— Baloch Yakjehti Committee (@BalochYakjehtiC) January 27, 2024
However, the government’s attempts to curb public gatherings faced resistance, particularly from Baloch women protesting under Section 144. The rally concluded with a strong resolution, asserting the Baloch people’s unwillingness to tolerate enforced disappearances or genocide.
Sources told CNN-News18 that the state’s negligence towards Baloch concerns has contributed to an increase in enforced disappearances, affecting both Baloch people and other students. No mainstream political party in the restive province has managed to mobilise such massive public participation in recent times.
Despite tall claims to champion human rights, Pakistan grapples with many internal issues and strained ties with neighbours Iran and Afghanistan. Kakar’s admission signals a willingness to openly address the challenges faced by the Baloch people.
The vast province of roughly 15 million people is mostly arid desert and mountainous territory holding untapped mineral wealth. It is Pakistan’s largest province by size, but the smallest by population. It borders Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province.
Balochistan is a key location in China’s huge multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative. China has undertaken mining projects and built an international airport and a port in the province’s southern coastal town of Gwadar.
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