Quetta, April 27 (IANS) Shalee Baloch, the central organiser of the Baloch Women Forum (BWF), has written to international human rights bodies seeking intervention in the abuse cases across Balochistan by Pakistani forces, including what she described as the “systematic pattern of enforced disappearances”, especially targeting Baloch women.
The letter was addressed to the United Nations for Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Front Line Defenders.
In the letter, Shalee highlighted the “urgent” need to address the “growing human rights emergency” in Balochistan.
“I draw your attention to the systematic pattern of enforced disappearances targeting Baloch women in Balochistan, which is a demographic that has long suffered in the shadow of conflict produced by Pakistani state atrocities,” she said.
On behalf of the BWF, she called for the immediate intervention in the recent enforced disappearance of three young Baloch women, Khadija Baloch, Haseena Noor Bakhsh and Gul Banuk Taj, by Pakistani forces. She claimed their only crime was their identity as peaceful Baloch students and housewives.
Shalee stated that their families have neither received any information about their whereabouts nor have any charges been brought against them.
“These are reportedly not isolated cases. They are part of a state-sanctioned strategy to silence Baloch women who, through their familial, social and community roles, are perceived as threats to state security. These abducted women are not legally criminalised, but they are women, mothers, students and homemakers,” she detailed.
The Baloch activist demanded an immediate and independent investigation through a fact-finding mission to Balochistan and Karachi against the enforced disappearances of Khadija, Haseena, and Gul Banuk.
She further urged the Pakistani government to produce these missing women before a judicial magistrate or allow access to an international observer to ensure accountability.
Shalee also appealed for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Enforced Disappearances of Baloch Women under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Optional Protocol.
She further called on the global human rights bodies to issue provisional orders directing Pakistan to cease all intelligence-led operations targeting Baloch women until a transparent review is conducted.
Shalee stressed that the BWF has repeatedly documented these cases but has met with “silence, threats, and gaslighting” by national institutions.
“We now turn to you, the international human rights bodies, as the last resort for justice. Time is not on our side. Each passing hour decreases the likelihood of finding these women alive. Their children wait. Their mothers weep. The world must no longer look away,” the letter concluded.
–IANS
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