The Baloch National Movement (BNM) organized protest demonstrations and a photo exhibition in various cities of the Netherlands to highlight the grave human rights violations, enforced disappearances, and state violence occurring in Balochistan. The core objective of this campaign was to draw the attention of the international community toward the ongoing atrocities and humanitarian crisis in the region.
The demonstrations were attended by local human rights activists, journalists, and other members of civil society. Participants carried banners and placards inscribed with slogans against enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the aggression of occupying Pakistani forces.
As part of the campaign, pamphlets were distributed on May 3 in Utrecht Central, on May 10 in Arnhem, and on May 11 in Maastricht.
The exhibition featured images depicting the human rights abuses taking place across different parts of Balochistan, the plight of families of the forcibly disappeared, and the realities on the ground. The photographs aimed to highlight Baloch national history, the exploitation of natural resources, and the region’s geopolitical importance.
BNM Netherlands Chapter President Maheem Abdul Rahim, along with Wahid Baloch, Dr. Latif Baloch, Basit Zaheer, and Barahg Baloch, addressed the protest. The speakers stated that the demonstration served as a symbolic protest to awaken the global conscience. They highlighted that, in the past month alone, over 40 forcibly disappeared individuals were killed in fake encounters by Pakistani forces, while hundreds more were abducted and subjected to enforced disappearance.
They also condemned the reported brutal torture of Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) leaders Dr. Mah Rang Baloch, Beebow, GulZadi, Shah Ji, and Bibgar Baloch in Hudha Jail. They appealed to the United Nations and international human rights organizations to urgently address the situation in Balochistan.
At the conclusion of the event, protestors demanded that the international community take immediate and effective steps to restore human rights in Balochistan, end enforced disappearances, and deliver justice to affected families.
