Another shocker from Pakistan: Balochistan human rights website banned

Pakistan has banned the website of the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB), a non-profit human rights group based in Balochistan, Sweden, and France. The HRCB has been highlighting the brutal repression in the Pakistani province which has been fighting for independence.

The website had recently reported how 16 Balochs were killed and over 45 abducted by Pakistan military last month as "Balochistan witnessed a surge in raids." The victims include infants.

"Our website has been banned in Pakistan. When you try to access it, a notice appears that reads: Surf Safely! The site you are trying to access contains content that is prohibited for viewership from within Pakistan’,” the Human Rights Council of Balochistan said in a statement.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1954" src="https://indianarrative.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/surf-safely.jpg" alt="" />

"We are unable to understand the reason for the ban as we have made clear on quite a few occasions that we are not a party to the war in Balochistan. We are a human rights organization and report cases fairly and without bias. This action by the Pakistani authorities is concerning and we fear that after banning our website, they might now target our volunteers and office-bearers who are living in the country," HRCB added further.

The HRCB has reasons to be fearful. It had in detail reported many recent killings and abductions including that of a teenage Baloch boy Murad Jan who was called in the military camp in the Rindak area of Mashkay, district Awaran, on April 10.

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"For hours, he was tortured for not speaking Urdu language and later released and ordered to return the next day to the camp with an Urdu interpreter. He succumbed to the injuries the next day. He was the fourth member of his family tortured to death by the Pakistani Army," HRCB had revealed.

As human rights activist Gulalai Ismail tweeted: Abducting citizens, target killing citizens & then portraying them as traitors who deserve denial to justice & dignity has been normalised in the <a href="https://indianarrative.com/world/maulvi-orders-ancient-buddha-statue-goes-under-the-hammer-in-pakistan-5879.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Naya Pakistan</strong></a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Abducting citizens, target killing citizens & then portraying them as traitors who deserve denial to justice & dignity has been normalised in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NayaPakistan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NayaPakistan</a>. <a href="https://t.co/UGHJHTIckv">https://t.co/UGHJHTIckv</a></p>
— Gulalai_Ismail (@Gulalai_Ismail) <a href="https://twitter.com/Gulalai_Ismail/status/1259725588077711361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2020</a></blockquote>
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