Qambar Baloch, General Secretary of the Baloch Advocacy and Studies Center (BASC), has called for urgent international action on the worsening human rights situation in Balochistan, following a landmark seminar hosted by BASC at SOAS, University of London on July 30.
Speaking to media after the event, Baloch said, “When we led the foundation of the Baloch Advocacy and Studies Center in May 2025, our team committed to a research-driven advocacy approach to highlight and address the various human rights challenges faced by the Baloch people in Iran and Pakistan. This seminar was a direct reflection of that mission.”
The seminar, titled “Hidden in the Shadows: Human Rights Violations Against the Baloch in Iran and Pakistan,” presented detailed findings from BASC’s upcoming annual report, focusing on extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances documented throughout 2024.
“Our research shows a disturbing increase in state-led violence across Baloch regions,” said Baloch. “These are not isolated incidents, but systematic abuses aimed at silencing a people.”
The event featured a strong lineup of speakers, including UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Mai Sato, and Sabiha Baloch of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), who offered testimony on repression in both Iranian and Pakistani Balochistan. Sato pledged to raise the issue before the UN Human Rights Council.
Qambar Baloch emphasised that the seminar’s impact extended beyond policy. “We were joined by journalists, diplomats, academics, and, most importantly, families of victims, people who continue to live in fear but refuse to be silent,” he said.
He concluded with a call for accountability, urging the international community to investigate enforced disappearances and hold perpetrators responsible. “We are not asking for sympathy. We are demanding justice under international law,” Baloch stated.
The seminar concluded with a renewed commitment from BASC to support human rights defenders and civil society actors working under threat. Qambar Baloch affirmed, “We will continue our work until the Baloch people are no longer hidden in the shadows.”
(with inputs from ANI)
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