Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorism, mostly in the country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but also in Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh provinces. (File photo: AFP)
The HRCP report said it is concerned at the state’s widespread use of enforced disappearances to muzzle dissent, a grievance echoed in numerous conversations
Pakistan’s human rights commission has sounded an alarm over the mounting public frustration over enforced disappearances, economic exclusion, curbs on press freedom, and allegations of political manipulation by the establishment in the restive Balochistan province.
A fact-finding mission led by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in October 2022 observed a palpable sense of anger among ordinary citizens, many of whom went so far as to refer to resource-rich Balochistan as a “colony” of the state during meetings with the independent and democratic non-profit organisation.
The HRCP report said it is concerned at the state’s widespread use of enforced disappearances to muzzle dissent, a grievance echoed in numerous conversations.
This discontent is compounded by the extensive presence of paramilitary check-posts, which citizens say has cultivated a climate of fear, it said.
The deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan province has further complicated the problems for the federal government, which is trying to fix Pakistan’s febrile economy.
Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorism, mostly in the country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but also in Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh provinces.
Balochistan province, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency.
Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several daring attacks targeting the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.
Amid Pakistan’s economic crisis, the province of Balochistan continues to be deprived of its fair share of revenues and development projects, the report said.
The HRCP mission observed that the absence of a healthy legal trading ecosystem between Balochistan and neighbouring countries has exacerbated poverty levels in the province.
The mission called for an immediate halt to unwarranted interference in Balochistan’s political affairs by the establishment, accountability for perpetrators of enforced disappearances and legislation by the Balochistan Assembly to protect the security and independence of the province’s media professionals, it added.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)