Paank, the Human Rights Department of Baloch National Movement (BNM) strongly condemns the reported order requiring approximately 5,000 families, comprising around 30,000 people, to leave their ancestral homes in Shoor Paarod, Kalat, Balochistan, by 30 October 2026, ahead of a planned military operation. The proposed displacement raises grave concerns regarding fundamental human rights, civilian protection and the rights of Indigenous communities to their ancestral lands, livelihoods and cultural identity. Ancestral land is not merely territory; it is the foundation of a people’s identity, history and collective existence.
For generations, Baloch have lived, worked, raised families and buried their dead on these lands. Forcibly removing people from territories with which their lives, heritage and traditions are deeply intertwined risks inflicting damage that extends far beyond the loss of shelter. Paank, the Human Rights Department of Baloch National Movement (BNM) strongly condemns the reported order requiring approximately 5,000 families, comprising around 30,000 people, to leave their ancestral homes in Shoor Paarod, Kalat, Balochistan, by 30 October 2026, ahead of a planned military operation.
The proposed displacement raises grave concerns regarding fundamental human rights, civilian protection and the rights of Indigenous communities to their ancestral lands, livelihoods and cultural identity. Ancestral land is not merely territory; it is the foundation of a people’s identity, history and collective existence. For generations, Baloch have lived, worked, raised families and buried their dead on these lands. Forcibly removing people from territories with which their lives, heritage and traditions are deeply intertwined risks inflicting damage that extends far beyond the loss of shelter.
Pakistani authorities have issued the evacuation order ahead of a planned securit operation, citing the presence of armed fighters and asserting that the area was government land. These stated security concerns do not, in themselves, justify arbitrary displacement or absolve authorities of their obligations towards civilians. The scale of the order and the short deadline demand urgent scrutiny, transparency and accountability.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, particularly Article 10, states that Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. Relocation must not take place without the free, prior an informed consent addressed in that article, alongside agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, the option of return. Articles 25 and 26 further recognise Indigenous peoples’ relationships with their traditional lands and their rights concerning those territories. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, particularly Articles 6 and 17, protects the right to life and safeguards against arbitrary or unlawful interference with the home and family. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including Article 11, recognises the right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate housing. The UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement also emphasise protection against arbitrary displacement and the particular protection owed to Indigenous peoples with a special dependency on and attachment to their lands. Forcibly uprooting approximately 30,000 people from their ancestral lands and relocating them to camps raises grave concerns about human dignity, survival and the complete disregard for the realities of their lives.
These are communities that have lived on their own land for generations, enduring deprivation and the absence of basic facilities while maintaining their homes, livelihoods and connection to their ancestral territory. If basic facilities have remained unavailable to these communities in their own homes, what guarantees can authorities possibly offer that those same people will receive adequate shelter, heating, healthcare, clean water and sanitation in relocation camps?
Kalat is among the coldest regions of Balochistan, making the prospect of relocating thousands of families to camps particularly alarming. Exposing families to harsh winter conditions without demonstrably adequate accommodation, heating and essential services could place their health, safety and lives at serious risk. Authorities cannot simply order people to leave their homes without transparently explaining where they will go, how they will survive and what concrete arrangements have been made to protect them.
People must not be forced to leave the lands on which their ancestors lived and died without respect for their rights, dignity and lawful protections.