Geneva – April 29, 2025:
United Nations human rights experts have expressed deep concern over the severe and harmful consequences of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism policies in Balochistan. They emphasized that all counter-terrorism measures must comply with international law and human rights principles.
While acknowledging the serious threats posed by armed groups in the region and expressing solidarity with victims of terrorism, the experts stressed that human rights and international humanitarian law must be respected in all counter-terrorism operations.
The UN experts voiced strong concern over the persistent cases of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, calling them a serious human rights violation and an international crime.
They urged the Government of Pakistan to establish an independent, effective, and transparent mechanism to locate the disappeared, criminalize enforced disappearance, and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The experts also called on Pakistan to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and to grant the Committee on Enforced Disappearances authority to receive and act on individual complaints.
They warned that linking human rights, minority rights, and peaceful protests to terrorism severely threatens freedoms of expression, assembly, and association. Repeated internet shutdowns in Balochistan, they said, have hindered access to information, transparency, accountability, political participation, and civil liberties.
The experts condemned reports of violence, extrajudicial killings, and abuse by security forces against civilians, especially peaceful protesters and human rights defenders.
They expressed concern over reprisals against leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), their supporters, families, and legal representatives, stating that relatives of those reaching out to the UN may face state retaliation.
The experts demanded that the Pakistani government immediately halt all human rights violations, ensure accountability for perpetrators, and provide justice to the victims.
Finally, they criticized the vague and overly broad definition of “terrorism” in Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act, which has led to human rights defenders, students, teachers, civil servants, and community leaders being labeled as terrorists. Several prominent Baloch activists have also been placed on the Exit Control List (ECL), restricting their right to leave the country.
