Netherlands: Activists protest human rights abuses by Pakistani forces in Balochistan

Amsterdam, June 27 (IANS) The Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) — a political organisation advocating for the independence of Balochistan — staged a protest in the Netherlands’ capital, Amsterdam, drawing attention to decades of brutality against Baloch civilians by Pakistani forces, while calling for justice.

The demonstration, held at Dam Square in Amsterdam to mark the United Nations’ International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on Friday, saw activists highlight what they described as “systematic, deliberate, and long-ignored” abuses against the people of Balochistan.

Sharing pictures of the demonstration on X on Saturday, Asad Baloch, a member of FBM, said, “Protesters condemned the ongoing abductions of Baloch students, political workers, and ordinary citizens who vanish without trial, without charges, and without a trace. Families have waited years, some decades, for answers that never come.”

The demonstrators denounced “brutal machinery of oppression: torture cells, extrajudicial killings, and arbitrary detentions” carried out by Pakistani security forces, stressing that “these abuses are not isolated incidents but part of a long-standing pattern.”

The FBM called on the European Union, the UN, and global human rights bodies to break their silence, protect vulnerable activists, and hold perpetrators accountable.

“Protesters insisted that international institutions can no longer look away. This action in Amsterdam is part of a growing wave of diaspora-led mobilisation across Europe — a movement determined to ensure that the Baloch struggle for dignity, safety, and freedom is no longer pushed to the margins of global attention,” Asad noted.

Marking the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, another human rights group, Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ), expressed solidarity with every victim of torture and families devastated by enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and abuses by Pakistani forces.

“Across Balochistan, these violations continue to cause profound physical and psychological suffering while families are denied truth and justice. The systematic use of torture and incommunicado detention undermines the rule of law and violates the most basic principles of human dignity. Families searching for their loved ones have spent years pursuing peaceful and lawful avenues, yet their calls for justice continue to be ignored,” the BVJ stated.

Balochistan continues to reel under relentless atrocities by the Pakistani forces, marked by enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch civilians at an unprecedented level.

–IANS

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