Geneva, Nov. 6 -- Dr Naseem Baloch, Chairman of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), has urged the United Nations to hold Pakistan accountable for systematic human rights violations in Balochistan, calling for an independent mechanism to investigate abuses and monitor the situation in the region.

During Pakistan's second periodic review before the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Dr Naseem Baloch met committee members Michael Windfuhr and Julieta Rossi and highlighted enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, collective punishment and the denial of fundamental economic, social and cultural rights to the Baloch population.

He called on the UN to establish a dedicated monitoring and investigative mechani...