GENEVA (Press Release) On March 13, 2024, during the 55th Session of the UNHRC, the World Sindhi Congress (WSC) organized a large protest in front of the UNHRC in Geneva. Sindhi representatives, exile leaders from Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Occupied Kashmir, along with human rights defenders from various European countries, joined the protest.
The protest aimed to inform the UN and the international community about the ongoing human rights violations inflicted upon the Sindhi people. The assembly highlighted the extrajudicial murder of a renowned political worker and human rights defender, Mr. Hidayat Lohar, who was gunned down on February 16 in his hometown Nasirabad, Sindh, Pakistan. The spotlight was firmly placed on atrocities, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, persecution of religious minorities, and the plundering of Sindhi people’s resources.
Speakers reiterated that Sindhi, Baloch, Kashmiri, and Pashtun people are systematically oppressed, citing numerous instances of heinous crimes. WSC representatives emphasized that the situation worsens daily. The main concerns raised included enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Sindhi political activists, ethnic cleansing of Sindhi Hindus, colonial-style land grabbing, large-scale theft of River Indus waters by Punjab, and the suppression of the Sindhi voice regarding historical, political, and human rights.
Speakers resolutely pointed out that these human rights atrocities occur with utter impunity, leaving victims with no path to justice. Considering these appalling violations, an earnest plea was made to the UN and the international community to intervene and take effective action to protect the oppressed Nations in Pakistan.
