Balochistan: Forced Evictions Alleged in Gwadar's Sardasht
Baloch Yakjehti Committee claims 3,000 residents in Sardasht are being forcibly displaced under security pretexts, calling it an assault on Baloch survival.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has raised serious alarms regarding the alleged forced displacement of residents in the Sardasht area of Pakistan's Balochistan province. According to the group, thousands of people are being uprooted from their ancestral homes under the guise of security concerns, a move the committee has condemned as a direct assault on the survival of the Baloch people.
A Community Under Threat
Sardasht, situated near Shadi Cor in the Gwadar district, is described as an ancient Baloch settlement with a deep-rooted history. For generations, nearly 3,000 people have called this region home. The BYC highlighted that key areas, including Reke Bazaar, Syed Muhammad Bazaar, and Tolgo, serve as the vital social and economic hubs for the local population.
The committee alleges that these residents are being pressured to abandon their lands, homes, and ancestral territories. They argue that using security threats as a justification for such mass displacement is essentially an occupation of Baloch land.
The Human Cost of Displacement
The BYC has strongly rejected the security-based justification provided by the authorities. The organization argued that if a genuine security threat exists, the state's responsibility should be to protect the residents rather than evicting them.
"Evicting three thousand people from their homes does not make them safe; rather, it turns them into refugees, unemployed, and displaced within their own homeland," the committee stated in a recent communication.
A Broader Pattern of Control?
The allegations against the Sardasht clearances are not viewed by the BYC as isolated incidents. Instead, they claim these actions are part of a wider strategy of displacement across Balochistan, particularly along the Makran coast. The committee pointed to several other measures they believe are designed to increase state control over Baloch territory and resources, including:
- The establishment of checkpoints and fencing proposals around Gwadar.
- Restrictions placed on local fishermen.
- Limitations on employment opportunities near the borders.
Legal Concerns and Demands for Justice
The BYC has questioned the legality of these operations, suggesting that the evictions violate various provisions of the Pakistani Constitution as well as international law, specifically the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The committee has raised several critical questions regarding the lack of transparency, asking for the legal basis of the clearance, the existence of written orders, and guarantees for compensation and the eventual return of the victims.
In response to the unfolding situation, the committee has issued the following demands:
- An immediate halt to all eviction processes in the region.
- The withdrawal of all related clearance orders.
- Full compensation for families who have already been displaced.
- The right for the people of Sardasht to remain on their ancestral lands.
The BYC has called upon both national and international human rights organizations to intervene and conduct independent fact-finding missions to investigate the situation. The group has pledged to continue its peaceful political struggle to protect the rights and presence of the Baloch people in their homeland.