In yet another merciless act the Pak Army has once again targeted an innocent Baloch refugee Zahir Baloch in Zarabad, Pakistan-occupied Balochistan. Zahir Baloch was shot dead by the Pak Army on January 13, 2024, and his tragic death is evidence of the horrific atrocities carried out by the Pak Army in Mashkay, where he was forced to flee his home in Kandadi in 2020 as a result of their brutal military operations.
Tragically, Zahir Baloch’s death is not an isolated incident. Like him, countless other Baloch refugees have suffered violence at the hands of the Pak Army. A long list of miseries has resulted from the human rights violations against the Baloch community during their forced occupation by the Pak Army on March 27, 1948. Since then, horrifying daily reports about home invasions, kidnappings and abductions for ransom, enforced disappearances, staged encounters, torture, and humiliation at checkpoints have surfaced.
It is impossible to overestimate the urgent need for global attention given that these ongoing acts of brutality constitute a troubling pattern of injustice. Every incident increases the number of innocent lives lost, necessitating the international community’s swift investigation and condemnation. Collective action must be taken to end the widespread violations of human rights and to demand justice for those who have suffered at the hands of the Pak Army, as the plight of the Baloch people cannot be ignored any longer.