Geneva’s UN Human Rights Council became a platform for Baloch voices on March 20, as leaders from the Baloch National Movement detailed harrowing accounts of oppression under Pakistani rule. During the 61st session, they called for urgent global intervention to curb what they term a genocide-like suppression in Balochistan.
Representatives lambasted the Pakistani government for deploying security apparatus and draconian laws to quash opposition. The surge in forced abductions, staged shootouts leading to murders without trial, and muzzling of speech form a calculated assault on Baloch identity, they asserted.
‘We’re punishing people for merely being Baloch,’ declared Mahra Baloch, underscoring collective retribution against innocents. Anti-terror measures, she said, falsely tag educators, youth, and defenders as threats, revoking their freedoms and exposing them to endless danger.
Paank’s 2025 data laid bare the scale: over 1,300 snatchings and 225 unlawful deaths. Mahra humanized the stats—loved ones vanished from homes, learners from schools, corpses returned as warnings. She spotlighted BYC leader Mahrang Baloch’s ordeal: jailed without cause, medically neglected, targeted for non-violent advocacy.
Routine tactics include shutting down internet, pervasive spying, and group penalties to blackout Balochistan’s truth. Jamal Baloch connected the dots to CPEC, arguing Chinese-backed ventures fuel military excesses. ‘The army acts above the law, hauling away civilians en masse,’ he said. Women’s rights marches face violent dispersal, blackouts persist in key areas, and project safeguards justify life-endangering militarization.
The appeals were unequivocal: force Pakistan to end abuses, free wrongfully held figures, and ensure transparent investigations. This UNHRC intervention marks a critical juncture, amplifying Baloch pleas amid rising international scrutiny.