GENEVA: Sohail Abro, chairman of the Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement (JSFM), has called for granting the people of Sindh the right to self-determination through a referendum supervised by the United Nations.
Speaking during the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council at the Palais des Nations on March 17, 2026, Abro emphasized that the Sindhi nation should be allowed to decide its political future through a democratic and peaceful process.
Abro stated that dozens of Sindhi political figures have been victims of extrajudicial killings, including Bashir Khan Qureshi, Shafi Muhammad Karnani, and Muzaffar Bhutto. He further claimed that more than one hundred political workers, including Talib Laghari, Ayub Kandhro, and Ejaz Gaho, remain missing, while over 3,500 individuals have reportedly disappeared over the past twenty-five years.
He also highlighted that other regional nations, including the Baloch, Pashtun, Seraiki, Gilgiti, and Kashmiri people, face similar issues. Sohail Abro mentioned that the father of Naseem Baloch, chairman of the Baloch National Movement, is missing, Mahrang Baloch is imprisoned, and Pashtun leader Ali Wazir is illegally detained, while Manzoor Pashteen, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, is under pressure from authorities.
Abro further raised concerns over water diversion projects threatening the Indus River, demographic engineering through mass settlements, and illegal land occupations in Sindh.
Concluding his statement, Sohail Abro urged the United Nations to facilitate a supervised referendum for Sindh among people settled before 1954, allowing the Sindhi nation to peacefully and democratically determine its political future in line with international law.
