Baloch activists protested against what they consider to be Pakistan's illegal occupation of Balochistan outside the United Nations headquarters in the New York City on Wednesday.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the Balochistan issue in his widely viewed Independence Day speech.

The protesters messages displayed on banner like, "Balochistan is not Pakistan," and "Stop human rights violations in Balochistan,” during the protest.

The Times of India reported, the event was open to participate for all pro-Baloch freedom activists, and other human rights activists.

Faiz Baloch, a London-based FBM activist, said that, "We expect the UN to recognise Balochistan as an occupied territory and urge Pakistan to end the illegal occupation of Balochistan. After the independence of Balochistan we want the UN to bring Pakistani war criminals and army generals to the International Court of Justice."

FBM also wants the UN to take notice of "state-sponsored terrorism" in Balochistan, and send a fact-finding mission to investigate the "Pakistani state's aggression against Balochs," Faiz said.

In addition to displaying banners and slogans, the protesters in New York also carried dolls painted with blood - "to show the world that Pakistan is killing our innocent children and women," Faiz added.

"No doubt Prime Minister Modi's mentioning of Balochistan in his speech has given exposure to Balochistan issue on international level including in India. But, the issue of Balochistan is much larger and we have a history of struggle against Pakistan," Faiz said.

"We have been organizing protests in America, London, Geneva, Norway, , Canada, Sweden, and Germany for a long time but there was no media coverage for our activities. Now the media especially the Indian media is giving more coverage to our protests which we appreciate," he added.

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Nandini