Expressing solidarity with the people of Balochistan against Pakistan’s atrocities, European Parliament Vice President Ryszard Czarnecki has said the European Union may impose economic and political sanctions on Islamabad if the Asian nation fails to stop the human rights violation in the region. ‘I told the European Union during our human rights debate that if our partner countries do not accept human rights and standards, in this situation we should react and seek sanctions like some moves in economic fields,’ he told ANI.

Czarnecki, who attended a silent vigil where the protestors condemned Pakistan for the ongoing atrocities and paid homage to those who lost their lives, added now is not the time for words but for actions. ‘We have bilateral economic and political relations with Pakistan and if it will not change its state policy towards Balochistan then we would change our attitude towards Islamabad and towards the government of Pakistan,’ he said.Stating that Islamabad has dual standards, the European Parliament Vice President said on one hand it shows a clean face to the world while on the other it indulges in human rights violations.

‘Pakistan has two faces. It is the open face to us and the other is the brutal face towards Balochistan,’ he said, adding that all the 28 members of the EU should react against Pakistan’s brutal operations and policies towards the Baloch people. He also acknowledged the problem in Pakistan is that the government is controlled by the military. ‘The problem is that the government in Islamabad practically doesn’t control the situation and now is the time to accept and react to this situation. The people in Balochistan must feel our solidarity,’ he said.

Baloch activists hold silent vigil

Participating in a silent vigil to pay homage to Baloch people killed by Pakistani military, Baloch Republican Party (BRP) chief Brahamdagh Bugti said here on Friday that it is time for the international community to take notice of the situation there and bring justice to Balochs.‘We are here to pay tribute to the people who have lost their lives for Balochistan. The pictures that you can see here are of those prominent leaders who were leading and raising their voice against Pakistan. Besides them, thousands of people are being the victims of Pakistan’s atrocities. It is time that the international community should take notice of the situation and support the peaceful Baloch movement,’ Bugti told ANI.He said the international community, western powers and neighbouring countries should intervene if there is injustice anywhere in the world.

Author Tarek Fatah, who was also attending the vigil, said the ‘genocide’ in Balochistan ‘was the ultimate war crime that the Pakistan armed forces have committed.’He said, ‘Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the most brutal fashion. It is not just killing by gun shots or firing squads, these were men who were arrested, kept in prison, tortured for months and then shot dead and dumped on the roadside.’‘They have spilled blood of civilians who are supposedly their own citizens. They will pay a very heavy price.’Comparing the Pakistani army with Hitler’s goons, he said, ‘These are the goons of Hitler rising in Balochistan to bring up memories of what happened in Europe during the late 1930’s during the rise of the Hitler youth.’He added that Pakistan is sanctioning the genocide of Balochs so that it could ‘make way for the territory to be sold to Chinese imperialism or multi-national co-operations’.

Fatah said the generals involved in the genocide will one day face tribunals that have seen dictators and military men from Africa and Bosnia ending up in prison for life.He also criticised the mainstream media for ignoring such conflicts, saying, ‘The mainstream media do not wish to cover conflicts where a Muslim army is inflicting terror on another Muslim population. So, you will notice that there is no coverage of Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara or Turkey’s occupation of Kurdistan or Indonesia’s occupation of west Papua.’‘For some reason the only time the conflict is covered is when one can play the anti-Hindu or the anti-Jew or anti-Israel or anti-India card. In this case, a defenceless civil population has been forced to live under occupation of the Pakistani army since March 28, 1948,’ he added.

He said after the fall of Berlin Wall when the interest of the United Nations in Western Europe was to contain communism, now, there is an outrageous abdication of duty and commitment to the world peace.He also praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for raising the issue of Balochistan, saying, ‘The Western countries simply do not wish to talk about this and thank god for India and its Prime Minister has taken up this cause and spoken about the atrocities in Balochistan.’