At UN, rights activists lambast Pak Army for suicide blasts, targeted killings

Speaking to ANI, on the sidelines of the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, two rights activists explained the pattern of terrorist attacks in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying they mostly happened in areas where people “do not want their government.”

Pakistan was literally hauled over the coals by human rights activists at the United Nations on Friday for repeated suicide blasts and targeted killings in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Speaking to ANI, on the sidelines of the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, two rights activists explained the pattern of terrorist attacks in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying they mostly happened in areas where people "do not want their government."

Baloch Voice Association president Munir Mengal said, "If you analyse these terrorist attacks are done in Balochistan or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa...It is basically done in those areas where people do not want their government..." Meanwhile, Pashtun Human Rights Activist and PTM member Fazal-ur-Rehman Afridi told ANI that the Pakistan army was attacking its own civilians.

"When you analyse the security situation of Pakistan, it is clear that since they have done a so-called peace deal with Taliban, TTP has entered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & even settled in Balochistan... Even though Pakistan says that they are against them, but they are one's who are sponsoring them...Target killings have increased...Pakistan Army is attacking their own civilians...," he said. Earlier in the day, the World Sindhi Congress condemned the killing of eight civilians, including men and women, in a joint operation conducted by law enforcers in Mari village of Sakrand, a town in the Sindh province of Pakistan.

World Sindhi Congress (WSC), a human rights organisation, has also called this act of law enforcers an act of "fascists and ethnic cleansing of Sindhi people." According to reports from Sindhi media, as cited by The Express Tribune, LEA personnel attempted to enter homes without a warrant or prior warning. In response, the locals tried to talk with them and requested the presentation of any necessary documents, however, this escalated, and the LEA personnel opened fire.

Separately, the Sindh United Party accused the Pakistan People's Party of deploying the police to intimidate their supporters in a village that had consistently supported the SUP as elections approached. At the UN, another research analyst on Friday too criticised Pakistan, accusing the country of creating a hostile environment for religious minorities by promoting Sunni Islamist extremism.

Conor Owens, an analyst working with the European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) while making intervention during the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council said, "The recent resolution introduced by Pakistan during this Council's last session in light of Quran burnings in Sweden attempts to diminish manifestations of religious hatred." (ANI)

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