March 22, 2021.
President Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Biden:
I am writing to you to seek U.S. help in shining a light on Pakistan’s human rights abuses in Balochistan, particularly enforced disappearances.
Since early 2000s, upwards of 20,000 Baloch from different walks of lives like political activists, students, doctors, lawyers, singers, poets, artistes, sportsmen and common working folks have gone missing just for protesting Islamabad’s unjust treatment and demanding basic human rights.
This gives Balochistan the dubious distinction of being third in the world in terms of the number of missing persons, following Syria and Sri Lanka.
Over the years, mutilated bodies of scores of the victims were dumped on the way side and desolate places by the state security services in Balochistan; fate of thousands remain unknown to this day.
Families of missing persons have been protesting for years in front of the press clubs in Quetta, Karachi and Islamabad. These families have staged perhaps the world’s longest freedom march from Quetta to Karachi and Islamabad, some 1,350 miles, but to no avail. Meanwhile, new cases are being reported even now.
With full support of China, the state actors involved in carrying out enforced disappearances in Balochistan with impunity are the Southern Command of Pakistan army, Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence and the paramilitary Frontier Corps.
The Leahy Law prohibits the U.S. from dealing with such aforementioned state entities.
The U.S. has an abiding commitment to defend human rights and uphold the rule of law world over.
As such, I will appreciate your instructions to the Department of State and the Department of Defense to enforce the Leahy Law in respect to Balochistan with immediate effect.
Sincerely,
Dr. Tara Chand Baloch
President
Baloch American Congress
Address:
Suite 1436, 712 H Street NE,
Washington, DC 20002.
Email: info@bacongress.us