QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN: The Baloch National Movement (BNM) has announced it will formally submit appeals to the United Nations and international human rights organizations on June 28, marking exactly 17 years since the enforced disappearance of its senior leader and renowned physician, Dr. Deen Mohammad Baloch.
The announcement was made by a BNM spokesperson, who confirmed that the organization’s chapters and zones across Balochistan and worldwide will simultaneously hold a series of events on the anniversary to draw global attention to the case and demand accountability from Pakistani authorities. These events will include public awareness campaigns, distribution of informational pamphlets, protest demonstrations, seminars and the formal submission of appeals to the UN and leading international human rights bodies.
Dr. Deen Mohammad Baloch was a central leader of the Baloch National Movement, a practicing physician, and a prominent Baloch nationalist figure. On June 28, 2009, he was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces from his residential quarters at a hospital. For 17 years, his family has received no information about his whereabouts, health, or legal status, leaving them in what BNM describes as a perpetual state of waiting for truth and justice.
On the occasion of the 17th anniversary, BNM has honored Dr. Deen Mohammad Baloch with the title “Ajoie-e-Bandeeg” meaning “Prisoner for Freedom” in recognition of his sacrifices, intellectual contributions, and unwavering commitment to the Baloch political struggle. Global events will be held not only to mourn his disappearance but also to celebrate his legacy and keep his story alive in the international conscience.
BNM’s spokesperson emphasized that Dr. Deen Mohammad Baloch’s case is not an isolated incident but a symbol of a much larger and systematic crisis. “His enforced disappearance stands as a clear symbol of the state’s crackdown on the Baloch National Movement and the systematic violation of human rights,” the spokesperson stated.
BNM stressed that his case mirrors the suffering of thousands of Baloch individuals who have been subjected to enforced disappearances over the past two decades, with their families left without answers, justice, or closure.
As the organization prepares to bring the case before the United Nations, BNM urged the international community, human rights organizations, journalists, and civil society groups worldwide to take notice and speak out. The movement called on global institutions to pressure Pakistani authorities to reveal the whereabouts of Dr. Deen Mohammad Baloch and all other forcibly disappeared Baloch individuals and to ensure accountability for those responsible.
“Seventeen years of silence is not acceptable. The world must hear this case,” the spokesperson concluded.
