Pakistani activist mysteriously found dead in Toronto; allegations of appeasing 'extremists' abound
An exiled Pakistani human rights activist was found dead last Monday in Toronto after having gone missing.
Karina Baloch, a member of the eponymous ethnic group inhabiting the Pakistani state of Balochistan, had been chair of the Baloch Students Organization, a student organisation which stressed the rights of Balochis in a region that has been in a low-intensity insurgency against the Pakistani government for more than 70 years.
Baloch had been listed by the BBC as one of the 100 most inspirational and influential women of 2016 for her work. She came to Canada as a refugee back in 2015.
Baloch’s husband, Hammal Haider, who is also a Pakistani activist living in exile, said that she had left home Sunday (December 20th) for a walk on Toronto’s Centre Island as she frequently did, but never returned. Her body was found the next day on the island.
“I can’t believe that it’s an act of suicide. She was a strong lady and she left home in a good mood,” Haider said. “We can’t rule out foul play as she has been under threats. She left Pakistan as her home was raided more than twice. Her uncle was killed. She was threatened to leave activism and political activities but she did not and fled to Canada.”
WION, an English-language news outlet based in India, has stated that Baloch's death is but the latest example of Canada's appeasement policy, whereby it rolls out the red carpet for extremists.
In an attempt to court the vote of Pakistani immigrants, Canada has, per WION, been willing to provide refuge to extremists. Baloch, who questioned how members of the Pakistani army that had oppressed her people could consequently find asylum in Canada, has been found dead, but police don't consider her death a murder. Having ruled out foul play, her death is presently considered a non-criminal case, even though she had been receiving public death threats. This is but one example of how appeasement has shaped public policy. Back in 2018, an Indo-Canadian businessman, Jaspal Atval, accompanied the Prime Minister as part of his inner circle on his visit to India. Atval, who had been part of the Khalistani (Punjabi) seperatist movement in his youth, had attempted to assassinate an Indian minister back in 1986. Atval had also been involved in the 1985 attack on Ujjal Dosanjh, an opponent of Khalistani separatism who would go on to become Premier of British Columbia as a member of the provincial NDP. Dosanjh later became Minister of Health under the Martin government. He vocally criticized the move by the Trudeau government on Twitter:
According to WION, this act was a flagrant attempt to appease to certain extremist elements within the Sikh community, who comprise a large percentage of the Liberals' support in Canada.
