Baloch activists protest in South Korea, highlighting growing brutality by Pakistani forces

Seoul, Oct 27 (IANS) The Baloch National Movement (BNM) held a protest in South Korea's Busan city against the ongoing Pakistani military siege and aggressive actions in the Zehri region of Balochistan.

The protesters distributed pamphlets in English and Korean to inform the local population about the humanitarian situation in Balochistan.

The demonstration comes amid a mounting human rights crisis in Zehri following weeks of Pakistani military operations that have left several people killed and injured.

The activists accused the Pakistan Army of committing war crimes against the Baloch people and emphasised the need to hold the military accountable at the international level.

During the protest, they carried banners reading, 'End Zehri Siege!', 'Justice for Balochistan!', and 'Stop Baloch Genocide!'.

Additionally, they also displayed images of destroyed homes and grieving families from Zehri to raise awareness among the local population in South Korea.

"According to the protesters, recent airstrikes by the Pakistani military have killed more than 20 civilians, including 10 children, and over 50 young men have been forcibly disappeared. They also detailed the humanitarian crisis in Zehri, highlighting severe shortages of food, water, and medicine, the conversion of hospitals into military bases, and a 24-hour curfew restricting civilians' movement," the BNM stated

The Busan protest was part of a series of recent demonstrations by the BNM around the world, aimed at drawing international attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Zehri.

"Zehri is bleeding, and the world must not remain silent," the BNM quoted one of the speakers at the protest as saying.

The protestors called on international human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, to immediately intervene and ensure humanitarian access to Zehri.

Last week, the BNM staged a protest in the Netherlands' Utrecht city, condemning aggression by the Pakistani Army in the Zehri region of Balochistan.

The protest was attended by members of the BNM and human rights activists who carried placards and banners bearing slogans against the Pakistani Army's aggression, enforced disappearances, and widespread human rights violations in Balochistan.

Furthermore, the BNM organised an awareness campaign outside the White House in the United States, where activists distributed pamphlets highlighting the ongoing human rights violations and the deteriorating situation in Zehri.

The pamphlet distributed by BNM described Pakistan as a "terrorist state" that exploits the natural resources of the "Baloch and other oppressed nations".

--IANS

scor/sd/