BREMEN, Germany: The Baloch National Movement (BNM) held a protest in the German city of Bremen to highlight the deteriorating situation in Balochistan and atrocities by the Pakistani state.
Speakers at the demonstration referenced the arrests of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Sibghatullah, Beebow, Gulzadi, Bibgar Baloch, and Syeda Bibi Sharif claiming the activists have faced fabricated cases and flawed judicial proceedings for raising human rights concerns in Balochistan.
Protesters also spoke about the enforced disappearance of the father, uncle, and maternal uncle of BNM Chairman Dr. Naseem Baloch, saying the family was targeted because of his political activities and has faced sustained state pressure including, they said, his sister being compelled to hold a press conference distancing herself from him.
Addressing the gathering, speakers accused the Pakistani state of subjecting the people of Balochistan to large-scale collective punishment, saying enforced disappearances and custodial killings have become routine and alleging that homes are being demolished and residents forced into displacement.
They further argued that the uncertainty caused by enforced disappearances inflicts deep psychological trauma extending beyond the missing individual to their entire family describing mothers waiting daily for news, fathers living under constant stress, and children growing up in fear and emotional instability.
Speakers claimed that family members of political activists are sometimes subjected to psychological, financial, and social harm, and in some cases, killed to intensify pressure and spread fear within Baloch society. They said families of the disappeared are often pressured into silence yet continue to receive the bodies of relatives allegedly killed in military custody.
The protesters called on the international community to recognize its responsibilities and support the restoration of human rights in Balochistan, as well as what they termed the Baloch nation’s right to self-determination.
The demonstration was addressed by Umair Baloch and Akbar Baloch, with pamphlets distributed detailing the situation in Balochistan, according to organizers.
