Baloch human rights activist Aomar Karim has announced a three-day hunger strike outside the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in London from 1 to 3 July, accusing Pakistan of carrying out a sustained campaign of repression in Balochistan. The protest seeks to draw international attention to what organisers describe as enforced disappearances, politically motivated prosecutions, arbitrary detentions, and other alleged human rights violations in the province.
London: Karim will stage the peaceful hunger strike opposite 10 Downing Street, urging the UK Government and the wider international community to take a stronger stand against what he describes as Pakistan’s treatment of the Baloch people.
The demonstration has been organised in response to the life imprisonment sentences imposed on Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji, which organisers contend were politically motivated and intended to silence Baloch voices. Karim has called on the UK Government to publicly condemn the convictions and press Pakistan to withdraw all cases against Mahrang Baloch, Sibghatullah Shahji, and other detained Baloch human rights activists.
Karim alleged that Pakistan’s state institutions—including the military, political leadership, and judiciary—have systematically targeted the Baloch community through enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and the suppression of political dissent. He argued that the international community can no longer remain silent in the face of what he characterised as continuing abuses in Balochistan.
Appealing to democratic governments worldwide, Karim urged them to increase diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to end enforced disappearances, hold those responsible for alleged human rights violations to account, and secure the release of all Baloch political prisoners.
The three-day hunger strike will conclude with a rally outside the FCDO at 5:30 pm on 3 July. Organisers have called on the Baloch diaspora in the UK, Members of Parliament, journalists, lawyers, students, trade unions, and human rights organisations to attend the demonstration and show solidarity with the Baloch cause.
