The Baloch Solidarity Committee (BYC) has said in a statement to the media that the Baloch Solidarity Committee strongly condemns the use of state force, direct firing, arrests of political activists and targeting of civilians against the popular rights movement in Kashmir. We consider these actions as part of a broader state policy under which attempts are made to suppress public voices and political resistance through force. Responding to public demands with bullets, arrests and repression instead of political action reflects the fact that the state of Pakistan prefers the use of force rather than tolerating dissent.
The popular movement in Kashmir that has been going on for the past 52 days is a clear manifestation of the fact that oppressed nations do not give up the struggle for their basic rights, resources, identity and political authority. However, instead of listening to these demands and finding a political solution to them, the state has resorted to force, which has resulted in attempts to suppress the popular movement through direct firing, violence, arrests and sieges. Several civilians have lost their lives as a result of state firing, while a large number of people have been injured. According to the Baloch Solidarity Committee, this situation reveals the fact that the state has lost its ability and willingness to find a political solution to the popular demands. That is why it is resorting to coercion and force, fearing organized public consciousness, collective resistance and political awareness.
The Baloch Solidarity Committee believes that the current situation in Kashmir is a continuation of the same policies adopted in Balochistan, Pashtunkhwa, Sindh and other subjugated regions, where instead of recognizing the demands for public rights, resources and political authority as a political issue, attempts are made to suppress them through force. A state that is based on seizing the resources of subjugated nations and keeping them silent through coercion makes guns, violence and state power the main means of its rule, instead of dialogue and justice.
The Baloch Solidarity Committee calls on international human rights organizations, relevant United Nations agencies and the international community to take serious note of the use of force, extrajudicial measures, illegal arrests, restrictions on civil liberties and violations of the fundamental right to protest against public rights movements in Pakistan. We demand that these incidents be ensured by an independent, impartial and transparent investigation, and that Pakistan be held accountable in international forums, and that effective diplomatic and legal pressure be exerted on Pakistan to comply with its international human rights obligations, end the use of force and ensure respect for the fundamental rights of all citizens, in particular the right to peaceful assembly, expression of opinion and political participation.
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