Human rights body condemns brutal massacre of Pashtoon civilians in Pakistan

Quetta, Sep 24 (IANS) A leading human rights organisation on Wednesday strongly condemned the recent brutal massacre of innocent Pashtoon civilians in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, describing it as a deliberate policy of genocide that has long targeted “oppressed nations” within the country.

The condemnation came after the Pakistani Air Force on Monday dropped eight bombs on the Pashtun-majority village of Matre Dara in Tirah valley of KP, killing more than 30 people, including several women and children, and critically injuring many others. The brutal incident drew scathing criticism from people, including several human rights organisations, from all over the world.

“It is the fundamental duty of any state to protect its citizens. Yet, in Pakistan, the state itself has become the perpetrator of violence, turning its weapons against its own people. Instead of ensuring safety, it wages war on the very populations it is meant to safeguard,” read a statement issued by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).

“The killings in Tirah Valley are not isolated. They stand in continuity with a long history of state-sponsored massacres and atrocities — from the Babra massacre to the discovery of mass graves in Tootak, from drone attacks and airstrikes in Balochistan’s Zehri that killed four civilians, to the targeted killings of peace march activists in Bannu,” the statement added

According to the BYC, the chain of crimes reflects a systematic policy of violence and erasure against both Baloch and Pashtoon.

The BYC asserted that Pakistan’s aggression is intensifying, perpetuating cycles of pain, oppression, and genocide. In the face of this, the rights body said, the Baloch and Pashtoon people must continue their collective, peaceful struggle against state brutality.

“Our political and human rights activists must stand shoulder to shoulder to resist this barbarism and to defend the dignity and survival of our nations,” the rights body stated.

Condemning the military strikes, another human rights body, Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ), stated that Pakistan's continued use of indiscriminate bombings and drone strikes from K-P to Balochistan represents a clear violation of international law and human rights. Such actions, it said, may constitute war crimes.

The BVJ urged the United Nations, international human rights bodies, and the global community to urgently intervene, stressing that independent investigations must be launched, and those responsible must be held accountable.

--IANS

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