Dr Abdullah Haiwad, President Afghan Governors Assembly and former Governor of Afghanistan’s Ghor province has forcefully raised the issue of mass killings and gross human rights violations of Baloch and Pashtuns at the hands of Pakistani regime.
This is the first time that human rights violations in Balochistan have been raised by an Afghan politician at the UN’s international forum.
Speaking at the 43rd session of UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Dr Abdullah Haiwad vehemently urged the Human Rights Council to send their delegates to Balochistan to “see for themselves” and get a first-hand information about what is happening in Balochistan. He also raised the issue of how Pakistani regime is abducting and killing the Pashtuns who are a large majority in Pakistan and in Afghanistan.
“I did not come with a piece of paper today. I came with the plight of tens of millions of Pashtuns and Baloch living under the oppression in Pakistan. Since 1948, when Balochistan was occupied by Pakistan hundreds and thousands of Baloch have been abducted, mutilated and killed by the Pakistani government and their plight have never been addressed by the United Nations. Pashtuns are similarly under the oppression of the Pakistani government. Thousands and thousands of Pashtuns have been abducted and they have been killed, they have been discarded and nobody has listened to the plight of the Pashtuns,” said Dr Abdullah Haiwad during his address to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.
He explained that in recent times the Pakistani regime has increased its spate of abductions and killings of Baloch and Pashtuns. “Recently there’s been a surge of attacks on Pashtuns and Baloch in Waziristan and other parts of Pashtunistan as well as in occupied Balochistan in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan. Unfortunately this voice has never been heard and this plight has never been raised. I urge the Human Rights Council who address this issue more seriously to send the delegates to Balochistan and Pashtunistan to see for themselves what the problem is and what is happening.” Dr Haiwad added.
Pashtunistan is the geographical region in Pakistan and Afghanistan inhabited by the Pashtuns. Balochistan was illegally and forcibly occupied by Pakistan in 1948, and continues to be under forceful Pakistani occupation till today. Pakistani regime’s infamous “kill and dump” policy where the Pakistani Army kills and dumps Baloch people was rarely discussed in international forums. Global champions of human rights also have never discussed about brutal human rights violations in Balochistan. Dr Abdullah Haiwad has taken a bold initiative to apprise the world about killings of Baloch and Pashtuns by Pakistani regime by urging the UN Human Rights Council to send delegates to these regions to get a first hand information about the ground realities.