QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN: The Baloch Students Organization-Azad (BSO-Azad) has accused the Pakistani state of forcibly displacing Baloch communities across Balochistan, pointing to a recent case in the Kulanch area of Pasni, in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Shoolan Baloch.
The statement says that residents of the old Sardasht settlement in Kulanch and nearby communities were recently forced out of the area. It claims they were threatened and harassed, that their daily lives were disrupted and that some were subjected to violence before being displaced.
The organization said such displacement is not new and has continued for years. It named Kohlu, Bolan and Dera Bugti as areas affected for many years and said Awaran, Mashkay, Balgatar, Dasht, Panjgur, Zamuran, Mastung, Noshki and Kalat, among others, have also been affected.
For this year, the statement said that residents of Khad Kocha in Mastung were threatened and pressured to leave, that there were attempts to empty several areas of Kalat and that people were forced out of Nushki and other areas. It said these actions have caused severe psychological distress among the Baloch population.
The spokesperson also said that the Pakistani military has bombed civilian areas, harassed and tortured residents and displaced people from their homes. He said international human rights bodies have remained silent and he called on global institutions to take notice of the situation in Balochistan.
The statement uses strongly political language describing Pakistan’s presence in Balochistan as an occupation.
