Digital poster calling for "Help End Enforced Disappearances in Balochistan" seen outside Lord's Cricket Ground | Photo Credit: ANI

Key Highlights Thousands of Baloch political activists have disappeared without trace Balochistan was an independent province when the British left in 1947 Baloch nationalists are against CPEC investments in their region

To highlight the plight of Baloch activists being killed by the Pakistani regime, human rights activists from the World Baloch Organisation and the Baloch Republican Party carried out a campaign to highlight the worsening human rights situation in the province.

Thousands of political activists, suspected armed separatists and people calling for the freedom of Balochistan have disappeared without a trace in Pakistan's restive province in the past decade.

Pakistan’s largest province has been turned into a modern-day killing field with the worst form of persecution ever witnessed.

According to the Human Rights Watch, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the paramilitary Frontier Corps have been abducting and killing political activists with their bodies abandoned on the dusty roads of the province – an act widely referred as “kill and dump” operations.

This targeted killing of opposition leaders and activists has been widely documented by the rights groups.

Baloch nationalist leaders and activists have been targeted by the Pakistani security forces, since the beginning of 2011. Human rights activists and intellectuals critical of their government have also been killed by the all-powerful military.

Balochistan & its troubled relationship with Pakistan

Balochistan was an independent province when the British left the subcontinent in 1947.

Khanate of Kalat was a princely state ruled by the Khan of Kalat, Ahmad Yar Khan. The Khan declared independence after the partition of the Indian subcontinent was announced by Britain.

Kalat finally acceded to Pakistan on March 27, 1948, after Jawaharlal Nehru refused to help the Baloch state. As per several reports, since 1946, the Khan was in touch with the top leadership of the Congress over the issue of Balochistan.

According to a similar report by Foreign Policy Centre, a Britain-based think tank, the Khan wanted to accede to India but the accession papers were allegedly returned by Nehru. It is widely believed that the Khan was trying to avoid Pakistani occupation.

A broadcast by All India Broadcast (AIR) revealed VP Menon saying that the Khan had urged India to accept Kalat's accession. He, however, said that India had no role to play in this.

Next day, the Pakistani military launched a full-scale invasion and the fate of Balochistan was sealed forever.

Natural resources, China and CPEC

The relationship between Balochistan and Pakistan has remained tensed for the most part of the 21st century.

The province, which is rich in many natural resources, has systematically been ignored by the Pakistani regime. This relationship which was already troubled due to multiple factors witnessed unprecedented violence under Dictator General Pervez Musharraf when he was in power from 1999 until 2008.

This was also a time when a brutal crackdown was launched on Baloch nationalists by the security forces, ISI and Military Intelligence (MI).

Baloch separatists have routinely targeted the Chinese in the region as they are against the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The BLA also warned China to stop its projects in Balochistan and to end its support to Pakistan in the genocide of the Baloch people.

The reason behind this aversion to CPEC and China is Baloch nationalists’ belief that heavy investment in the province will alter the demographics thereby turning them into a minority in their own homeland.

A joint campaign by the World Baloch Organization (WBO) and the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) to highlight forced disappearance of the Baloch people gained widespread coverage during the World Cup. However, it’s time that the international community and the United Nations stood up for the people who have long been persecuted by the Pakistani regime.

The views expressed by the author are personal and do not in any way represent those of Times Network.