Renowned activist Karima Baloch has been found dead in Toronto Canada. She was vocal about Pakistan Army and government atrocities in Balochistan.
On Sunday, she had gone missing and was last seen at approximately 3 pm on the same day. However, now her family has confirmed that Karima's body has been found.
Meanwhile, the Baloch National Movement has announced forty days of mourning for Karima Baloch
The spokesperson of the Baloch National Movement said that the martyrdom of Karima Baloch, a BNM leader living in exile in Canada and former chairperson of Baloch Student Organisation (BSO), is a great loss to the Baloch nation and the national movement.
"With the death of Banuk Karima, we have lost a visionary leader and a national symbol. Compensation for this great loss is impossible for centuries," said the statement of the Spokesperson.
- Karima was a Canadian refugee and named as one of the world's 100 most "inspirational and influential" women in 2016 by the BBC.
- She first rose to prominence as a member and then leader of the Baloch Students Organization (Azad) - a student group that campaigned for students of Pakistan's Balochistan Province and advocated struggle for an independent Balochistan based on pre-colonial Baloch country. It had been dubbed a terrorist organisation and banned by the Pakistan government.
- Karima Baloch, a famous personality in Balochistan, is believed to be the pioneer of women activism there.
- She has also raised the issue of Balochistan in the United Nations sessions in Switzerland.
- In 2017, she had made headlines in India after reaching out to Prime Minister Modi through a video message on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
- In an interview in May 2019, she had accused Pakistan of taking away the resources and eliminating the people of Balochistan, the province with immense geo-strategic importance and huge untapped natural resource reserves.
- More recently, she had taken to social media, repeatedly calling for the release of Shabir Baloch. For the uninitiated, the Balochistan Student Organisation (BSO-Azad) information secretary had been abducted by Pakistani forces on October 4.
Other attacks on Balochistan activist
Karima was a refugee in Canada, after having escaped the persecution by the Pakistani Army in Balochistan.
In a similar pattern, another Pakistani dissident, Baloch journalist Sajid Hussain was found dead in Sweden. He was missing too before his body was found.
Balochistan, is a resource-rich and conflict-torn province of Pakistan where Pakistan Army is accused of committing grave and wide spread human rights violations. The military repression has led to an insurgency and a movement for freedom from Pakistan.
Balochistan activist demand investigation
Karima was one among the thousands of Baloch human rights activists who have sought political asylum in Canada.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Baloch activists on social media played video clips of Karima's speech in Canada where she had raised an alarm about the Pakistani oppressors of Baloch people being settled in Canada accommodated by the Justin Trudeau government. Many demanded investigation into her mysterious death in Toronto.
