United Nations, September 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Baloch and Pashtun activists staged separate protests outside the United Nations complex in New York on Friday, raising allegations of killings, imprisonment and enforced disappearances involving their communities as Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the UN General Assembly.
Supporters of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) and the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) called for an end to what they described as attacks and suppression of Baloch and Pashtun people.
The BNM’s New York protest coincided with a three-day campaign organised by the group in Geneva during the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council. The campaign has focused on allegations of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, collective punishment and restrictions on political freedoms in Balochistan.
The BNM also held a rally and photo exhibition in Geneva on Friday. Protesters carried placards calling for an end to enforced disappearances and collective punishment and urging the UN to act on the group’s allegations concerning Balochistan.
The organisation has separately said that its delegation presented a six-month human rights report and a dossier on enforced disappearances to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in Geneva.
The PTM, which represents Pashtuns living on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, raised allegations of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and the presence of unexploded ordnance in Pashtun areas.
In a resolution read during its protest, the movement also condemned Pakistani military operations in Pashtun areas inside Afghanistan and called for an independent investigation into what it described as Pakistan’s support for armed groups.
The PTM also criticised restrictions on women’s education and employment outside the home under Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, underscoring its stated position on rights issues beyond Pakistan.
The protests took place as Sharif delivered Pakistan’s address to the General Assembly, where he raised allegations concerning India and Kashmir. The demonstrations provided a contrasting focus on allegations of rights violations involving Pakistan’s own security and political authorities.
The BNM’s Geneva campaign is continuing through September 26, with a photographic exhibition and other activities aimed at drawing international attention to the group’s allegations concerning Balochistan.
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