LONDON: August 25, 2024 – The Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) has announced a series of protests in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and the USA to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.
The demonstrations will highlight the ongoing issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, where the Pakistani forces have arrested and disappeared thousands of Baloch activists, students and civilians over the past decades.
The protests are scheduled to take place on August 30 in London, UK, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, followed by demonstrations on August 31 in Hamburg, Germany, and Washington, DC, USA.
According to the FBM spokesperson, these events aim to raise global awareness about the plight of the enforced disappeared people in Balochistan and to urge international organizations and governments to take action against human rights violations by Pakistan in Balochistan.
The FBM further said that the Pakistani state was carrying out systematic abductions, extrajudicial killings, and suppressing Baloch voices demanding freedom.
The Free Balochistan Movement has been actively campaigning for an independent Balochistan and has often organised protests, demonstrations, round-the-clock vigils and seminars to highlight the ongoing atrocities of Iran and Pakistan against the Baloch nation.
The protests on August 30 and 31 are expected to draw participation from the Baloch diaspora, human rights organizations, and supporters of the Baloch cause.
The FBM has called on international bodies like the United Nations to intervene and hold Pakistan accountable for human rights violations including enforced disappearances in Balochistan.
The International Day of the Disappeared is observed worldwide to recognise the victims of enforced disappearances and to demand justice for those whose whereabouts remain unknown.
The FBM’s coordinated protests across four countries are part of a broader strategy to internationalise the Baloch struggle and seek global attention to Balochistan’s situation.
The Free Balochistan Movement, through its global campaign, hopes to amplify the voices of those who have been silenced at gunpoint by Iran and Pakistan and to keep the global spotlight on the plight of Balochistan.