GERMANY: The Baloch National Movement (BNM) held a protest at Porta Nigra Platz in Trier, Germany, aimed at highlighting the ongoing systematic and severe human rights violations in Balochistan to the international community.
Human rights activists and supporters of the Baloch nation participated in the protest. The participants expressed solidarity with the people of Balochistan and voiced strong concern over enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, political repression and state oppression targeting human rights defenders. Protesters stated that all these actions are being carried out systematically by the Pakistani state.
During the demonstration, placards, banners, and speeches were used to appeal to the international community, human rights organizations, and the media to break their silence on the situation in Balochistan. Speakers emphasized that despite decades of documented human rights abuses, the suffering of the Baloch people continues to be ignored on global forums.
BNM activists also distributed pamphlets in German and English.
The protest highlighted the deep impact of these atrocities on women, children, and the families of forcibly disappeared persons. Speakers noted that the families, especially mothers and children, have been demanding justice and the safe return of their loved ones through peaceful struggle for years, yet they continue to face collective punishment instead of justice.
Speakers, including Luqman Baloch, Wajahat Baloch, Asif Baloch, Mujeeb Abdullah, Sharq Baloch, and Habib Baloch, strongly condemned the enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and collective punishments faced by the people of Balochistan.
The protesters also strongly criticized the Pakistani military’s operations, stating that the army is using force against civilians in Balochistan. In recent days, dozens of people have been directly targeted and killed by the military in Gwadar, Mastung, and Kech, while drone attacks have also resulted in civilian casualties. Protesters stressed that these developments place a responsibility on the international community to reconsider Pakistan’s military and economic aid, defense partnerships, and arms sales.
Highlighting the worst form of collective punishment, the protesters said that even the families of human rights and political activists in Balochistan are being subjected to enforced disappearances. The latest examples include the enforced disappearances of BNM Chairman Dr. Naseem Baloch’s father, Muhammad Bakhsh Sajdi, his uncle Naeem Sajdi, and his maternal uncle Rafiq Baloch. According to protesters, these arrests were intended to force Dr. Naseem to abandon his political and activist work.
They added that Dr. Naseem’s family has long been a target of Pakistani oppression. His close relatives have been subjected to enforced disappearances for years, and one relative was extrajudicially killed at home. Recently, the families of other BNM leaders and activists have also faced harassment.
The speakers made it clear that the BNM leadership and activists will not be intimidated by the Pakistani military’s tactics.
They also mentioned the arrests of prominent lawyer Iman Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chhatta, noting that collective punishment in Balochistan is not limited to the families of political activists but also targets their lawyers and human rights defenders. Iman Mazari and Hadi Ali Chhatta were imprisoned for advocating for the forcibly disappeared and speaking out against atrocities in Balochistan.
The protesters called on the United Nations, the European Union, and international human rights organizations to conduct independent investigations into human rights violations in Balochistan and hold the responsible parties accountable under international law.
