Calls for accountability over enforced disappearances in Pakistan grow at UN

Geneva [Switzerland], October 3 (ANI): The Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy organised a side event during the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, titled "Enforced Disappearances in Pakistan: Amplifying Voices, Demanding Justice, Calling for Global Action."

Political activists from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) raised alarm over the scale of human rights violations, describing Pakistan as one of the leading states in the region for enforced disappearances and extrajudicial abuses.

The event sought to expose the growing crisis of disappearances, amplify the voices of victims and their families, and demand accountability from Pakistan under international law. Speakers called for Islamabad's compliance with the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Pashtun political activist Fazal-ur-Rehman Afridi, a member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), accused Pakistan of widespread disappearances, torture, and killings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said PTM has been crucial in defending Pashtun voices, but the state continues to brand them as terrorists and target them with repression.

"It's really an important issue and we have been forming the international community on enforced disappearances time and again. We recently submitted 6,500 confirmed cases of enforced disappearances of just Pashtun people. Besides Pashtuns, there are Sindhis and Balochis as well. The number is astronomical, so we informed the United Nations Human Rights Council about these enforced disappearances," Fazal-ur-Rehman Afridi told ANI.

Nasir Aziz Khan, exiled activist from PoJK and spokesperson for the United Kashmir People's National Party, condemned atrocities against peaceful protesters in the region. He cited the September 27 protests organised by the Awami Action Committee, where Pakistani Rangers allegedly opened fire indiscriminately, killing several demonstrators. He accused Pakistan of exploiting PoJK's resources since 1947 and urged the UN to intervene to protect local communities.

"Actually, there are many people that are disappeared, but recently, what is happening in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, people are concerned about their lives. More than 10 people lost their lives since September 29 till now what we got reports from there. Pakistan is using brutal force against civilians and peaceful protestors. They killed and injured people, there are hundreds of people in jail and they torture people. Through this international community gathering, we urge the United Nations they intervene to protect the lives of Kashmiris living under Pakistan's occupation," Nasir Aziz Khan told ANI.

Dr. Habib Millat, former Canadian MP and President of the Global Center for Democratic Governance, described enforced disappearances as a "grave human rights concern."

Sindhi activist Kamran Jatoi of the World Sindhi Congress also highlighted abuses in Sindh, noting that those who protested against a canal project on the Indus River were abducted and targeted. He demanded an end to the misuse of Pakistan's anti-terrorism courts, which he said are used to silence dissent.

The event concluded with a collective call for international pressure on Pakistan to end enforced disappearances, ensure accountability, and uphold the fundamental rights of its citizens. (ANI)

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