Watch: Baloch Protest Against CPEC

The Baloch Voice Association, an NGO that raises the issues of Baloch people at international forums, staged a protest in front of the iconic “Broken Chair”, which stands across the street from the Palace of Nations, Geneva. The protest coincided with the 35th Session of the United Nationals Human Rights Council (UNHR).

The protesters had gathered to highlight the atrocities mitigated by the Pakistan in Balochistan. The protest was aimed at the discord that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC will cause to the Balochistan province and the Baloch people.

CPEC is a series of infrastructure projects currently under way throughout Pakistan, the total value of which is estimated at 62 billion dollars. The project has also come under criticism in certain quarters of Pakistan, calling it akin to a new form of colonial enterprise.

The Gwadar port, which resides in Balochistan, is considered to be the core of the project. It is thought of as the most logical link between China’s “One Belt, One Road” project and “Maritime Silk Road” project.

During the previous UNHR Session, the Khan of Kalat, Mir Suleiman Ahmedzai, branded both China and Pakistan as “plunderers” and had requested India’s assistance in stopping both nations.

The Balochistan province has been witness to intermittent insurgencies from 1948 till the present day.

While the Pakistani establishment points at the involvement of Indian agencies, the root of the issue is that the Government of Pakistan had initially recognised Kalat as an independent state in August 1947 before invading and annexing it in April 1948.