Activist Karima Baloch found dead in Toronto, Canada under mysterious circumstances. Karima was named as one of the world`s 100 most “inspirational and influential” women in 2016 by the BBC. She had spoken against Pakistan Army and government atrocities in Balochistan. Fearing for her life, Karima, escaped from Pakistan in 2016 and took refuge in Canada.
As per Zee News reports, Karima had gone missing in the city’s waterfront area on December 20. The police found her body drowned off on an island near Toronto’s lakeshore. Her husband Hammal Haider and brother have identified her body.
The Baloch National Movement has announced forty days of mourning for Karima Baloch.
Karima Baloch was the first female chairperson of the Baloch Student Organization. She became the leader of the BSO in 2014. This took place after the organisation’s leader Zahid Baloch was allegedly abducted. The Baloch Students Organization (Azad)advocated the region’s independence from Pakistan.
In May 2019 Karima had accused Pakistan of taking away the resources and eliminating the people of Balochistan. She had also raised the issue of Balochistan in the United Nations sessions in Switzerland.
The Pakistani government had banned the Balouch Student Organisation on March 15, 2013 as a terrorist organisation.
In 2016, Karima Baloch had recorded a Raksha Bandhan message for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking support for their struggle for independence.
Earlier a Baloch journalist Sajid Hussain Baloch was found dead in similar circumstances. He was reported missing in Sweden in March. His body was also found later in a river. His family and friends alleged that he was murdered because of his work as a journalist.
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