Death of Pakistani rights activist in Toronto; Baloch political activist accuses foul play

Toronto: The body of 37-year-old Human rights activist Karima Mehrab Baloch was discovered on Monday night, in Toronto Canada. Police report that the body of a Pakistani human rights activist living in Toronto has been identified to be a migrant, with the Amnesty International and others asking for a complete and open inquiry into the circumstances around her disappearance.

Karima has previously been reported missing by Toronto police, having been last seen on Sunday in the Bay Street and Queens Quay West neighborhood at around 3pm local time, according to a police release.

Karima was a prominent rights activist, heading the BSO-A, a group at the frontline of the political campaign that advocated for the secession of the ethnic Baloch regions of Pakistan and reported alleged abuses of human rights there. She accused Pakistan of taking the resources and eliminating the citizens of Balochistan, the province with tremendous geo-strategic significance and vast untapped natural resource reserves, in an interview in May 2019.

Balochistan Post said that significant concern was posed by the sudden death of the activist.

According to local and international rights groups, Baloch activists, especially those calling for independence, have been subject to a sustained and documented campaign of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings for years.

Rights organisations and Pakistani rights activists, especially those residing in foreign countries with refugee status, have called for a comprehensive investigation into her murder, claiming that it could have been carried out by government entities.

In 2016, Karima Baloch, citing her advocacy, was named as BBC'S one of its 100 "inspiring and influential women" for her work as a campaigner. She moved to Canada in the face of threats to her life and was given permanent political asylum in 2017.