Even dead Baloch woman not spared from abduction by Pakistan, says bother of slain activist Karima Baloch

Sameer Mehrab, brother of slain human rights activist Karima Baloch, lashed out at Pakistani authorities on Sunday after the body of his sister was forcefully taken away while it was being escorted to her hometown in Tump, Balochistan.

Sameer Mehrab, brother of slain human rights activist Karima Baloch, lashed out at Pakistani authorities on Sunday after the body of his sister was forcefully taken away while it was being escorted to her hometown in Tump, Balochistan. "Previously we thought only living Baloch are prone to abductions. Here, this is a new law. Even a Baloch dead woman is not spared from abduction by Pakistan," Sameer tweeted.

Karima, a prominent Baloch activist who died in Canada in December last year was slated to get buried on January 25, Balochwarna reported. However, before the corpse could be transported from Karachi to Balochistan, Pakistani authorities took Karima's body along with her family from the airport, to an "unknown location." "My family has just confirmed they have reached the border of Balochistan and more forces have joined the convoy. Pakistan wants to avoid the press and the people who have come to pay their last tribute to Karima in the city of Karachi," he added.

Confirming the news, Bashir Ahmad Gwakh, a journalist from Afghanistan said that the Pakistan government officials are yet to issue a response in this development. "Just spoke to human rights activist #KarimaBaloch's brother Sameer Mehrab. He says police were not giving her sister's dead body in Karachi but now the ambulance carrying the deceased is forcefully escorted by #Pakistan military vehicles. No words from the govt officials yet," Ahmad Gwakh tweeted.

Another activist Lateef Johar Baloch urged the Pakistani authorities to spare Karima's family from more agony and handover the body right away. "Pakistani authorities have refused to handover of Karima Baloch's body to her family. This is wrong, unacceptable and against humanity. Why is Pakistan afraid of a body? Pakistani authorities must spare Karima Baloch's family from more agony and handover the body right away," he said and tagged the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the same.

The Baloch Solidarity Committee in a statement had said that they had made arrangements to receive Karima's dead body with 'full national honour' from Karachi airport on Sunday, Balochwarna reported. In December 2020, Karima was found dead a day she went missing in Toronto. The Baloch activists' death sparked protests across Europe and North America as the Baloch diaspora took to the streets in Toronto, Berlin and Netherlands calling on the Canadian government to investigate.

Baloch had campaigned vigorously against the disappearances and human rights violations in the troubled Balochistan province of Pakistan. Requesting the United Nations to intervene, Baloch Human Rights Council in a letter had said Pakistan has "responded violently to the genuine demands of the Baloch people". Recently Pakistan affairs expert Tarek Fatah, and scholar Burzine Waghmar had slammed the crackdown on dissent in Balochistan and urged the Canadian Government to reconsider diplomatic relations with Pakistan.

Speaking to a Canadian News outlet recently, Waghmar said that there has been a systematic campaign by the Pakistani state elements to "liquidate any and every Baloch voice." "We have seen nothing official come out of Ottawa on this count. Not even the Pakistani High Commissioner in Ottawa has been called into the foreign ministry for an explication on this. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence," he had said.

Fatah, who is also leading the Friends For Karima Baloch committee, called for Karima's death to not be considered a suicide stating that "there is no reason to" do so. "There was no reason for her to commit suicide. She had her whole life ahead of her," he had said. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)