The Baloch National Movement (BNM) staged a protest in the Netherlands’ Utrecht city, drawing international attention to the ongoing abuses by Pakistani forces in Balochistan, including the enforced disappearance of thousands of people, extrajudicial killings and other serious human rights violations. The demonstration held yesterday to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances brought together several political activists, who expressed solidarity with the victims of enforced disappearances and their families.

The International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances is observed every year on August 30, a UN-designated day established in 2011 to raise global awareness of this grave human rights violation and to honour the victims and their families. According to the BNM, the protesters held photographs of forcibly disappeared persons and carried banners and placards while demanding justice and calling for an immediate end to enforced disappearances in Balochistan. Addressing the gathering, the speakers highlighted the profound and devastating impact of enforced disappearances on Baloch society, saying hardly any family in Balochistan has remained untouched by the trauma of enforced disappearance.