QUETTA: A Pakistani dissident and woman rights activist who died in exile in Canada last month was brought home and laid to rest in her home village in the southwestern Balochistan province under tight security, activists said Monday.
Only the immediate family of 37-year-old Karima Baloch were allowed to attend her funeral on Sunday in the village of Tump in Balochistan.
Her supporters claim troops had sealed off the village and prevented them from attending her burial. Her remains were brought to Pakistan from Canada earlier on Sunday.
There was no immediate comment from the government, but a video that surfaced on social media shows soldiers turning back several mourners who are heard in the footage saying they wanted to pay their last respects to Baloch.
Her body was found on December 22 near Toronto’s downtown waterfront, a place that she liked and often visited, a day after she was reported missing. Toronto police have not treated her death as suspicious though there were allegations by her supporters that she was killed. They have offered no evidence to support their claims.
A fierce critic of Pakistani security agencies, Baloch was granted asylum in Canada in 2016. Her death has raised suspicions among rights activists, who on Monday denounced authorities for holding the funeral in near secrecy.
“It is not difficult to understand how this will deepen the divide and fuel separatism,” Mohsin Dawar, a lawmaker from Pakistan’s former tribal regions who campaigns for Pashtun minority rights, tweeted.
Angered over the situation, a Baloch nationalist group — the Baloch Solidarity Committee — issued a call for a daylong strike and complete shutdown in Baluchistan on Monday. On Sunday, hundreds of Baluch activists rallied in Karachi, demanding justice for Baloch, who they say was a “voice of the Baloch people” that was “silenced.” The activists insisted she did not die a natural death though they offered no evidence to support their allegation.
Balochistan has for years been the scene of a low-level insurgency by small separatist groups and nationalists who complain of discrimination and demand a fairer share of their province’s resources and wealth. The Pakistani state denies these allegations.
Baloch activist who died in exile in Canada buried in Pakistan amid high security
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Baloch activist who died in exile in Canada buried in Pakistan amid high security
- Karima Baloch’s body was found on December 22 near Toronto’s downtown waterfront a day after she was reported missing
- Toronto police have not treated her death as suspicious, her supporters say she was killed but have provided no evidence for their claims
Pakistan military says ex-PM Khan’s narrative has become ‘threat to national security’
- Military spokesperson responds to Khan’s fresh criticism of Pakistan’s powerful army chief, whom he accuses of denying him basic rights
- Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry warns army will “come bare knuckle” if Khan and his party do not desist from attacking military leadership
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Friday that former prime minister Imran Khan’s narrative against the armed forces has become a “national security threat,” warning him and his party to keep the army out of political statements.
Chaudhry’s criticism comes in response to Khan’s latest statement, released by his account on social media platform X on Thursday, in which he blamed Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir for “the complete collapse of the constitution and rule of law in Pakistan.”
Khan, who was ousted via a parliamentary vote in April 2022, blames the country’s powerful army for colluding with his political rivals to keep him away from power. He blames the military and the incumbent government for keeping him in solitary confinement in a central prison in Rawalpindi. Pakistan’s military and the government have strongly rejected his claims.
“It may seem to you a bit strange coming from me this because that person [Khan] and the narrative he is pushing, it has become a national security threat,” Chaudhry told reporters at a news conference.
“And that is why it is very important that we come clear, without any ambiguity, without any doubt. We need to come clear and we need to say what needs to be said,” he added.
Throughout the press conference, Chaudhry kept referring to the former prime minister as a “mentally ill” person. He played video clips of Indian news channels and Afghanistan’s social media accounts promoting Khan’s statements against the military.
“Why would they not do it? Because sitting in your country, a mindset, a mentally ill person sitting here is saying these things against the military and its leadership,” he said.
The military spokesperson warned Khan and his party against criticizing the military. He added that while the military welcomes constructive criticism, it should be kept away from political statements.
“If someone for the sake of his own self, his delusional mindset and narcissistic thinking attacks this armed forces and its leadership, then we will also come bare knuckle,” he warned.
“There should be no doubt on that.”
Khan, who remains in prison on a slew of charges that he says are politically motivated, continues to be popular among the masses.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has frequently led rallies to demand his release from jail, including one in May 2023 and another in November 2024 that saw clashes with law enforcement personnel.
While the former prime minister continues to remain behind bars, rallies organized by the PTI still draw thousands of people across the country and his party still enjoys a sizable following on social media platforms.
