In light of the recent crackdown on the Baloch assembly in Dalbandin, the Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) has reiterated its commitment to resist state violence and persist in its efforts to secure the rights of the Baloch people. The initiatives undertaken by BYC have, on one side, heightened awareness among the Baloch regarding their rights; conversely, its strategies of nonviolent protests and marches appear to have exasperated the Pakistani state, which struggles to undermine their legitimacy by associating them with terrorist activities.
Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) which translates as 'Balochistan Unity Committee', a pro-Baloch rights group formed in 2018 by various Baloch activists and headed by Dr. Mahrang Baloch, observed 25 January as “Baloch Genocide Remembrance Day”. This date was chosen because, 11 years ago on this date more than 100 mutilated bodies were discovered in a mass grave in the Tootak village in Khuzdar district, Balochistan in 2014; the remains were believed to belong to Baloch individuals who had been forcibly disappeared by Pakistani military and intelligence agencies. A shepherd reportedly stumbled upon human remains— fragments of bodies and bones— while grazing his sheep near Tootak village, prompting local residents to take the matter to the local levies who excavated three mass graves and discovered about 169 bodies in the vicinity, which are supposed to be the remains of hundreds of Baloch missing persons, highlighting the severe repression faced by the people of Balochistan at the hands of the Pakistani state over the past 77 years.
Call for Remembering the Dead
To halt the attempt of BYC to organise the rally in Dalbandin on 25 January 2025, the Pakistani authorities imposed restrictions and reportedly shutdown internet to stop spreading the news about the gathering that was to be held in Dalbandin, in Chagai district of Balochistan. This is not the first call by BYC for a mass protest; nor the first time that the authorities in Pakistan have tried to stop such a protest. Earlier on 28 July 2024, BYC had announced “Baloch Raaji Muchi” which meant “Baloch National Gathering” or “Baloch People's Assembly”, in Gwadar to unite the Baloch of Eastern and Western Balochistan. The protest was dealt with violence by the Pakistani authorities, leading to the killing of three protestors and many more were arrested. This event is marked both as a memorial and a protest. It sought to:
- Commemorate Victims: Remember Baloch individuals subjected to enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and other atrocities.
- Raise Awareness: Draw global attention to the alleged genocide, including resource exploitation, cultural suppression, and denial of basic rights like education and healthcare.
- Unify the Baloch People: Foster solidarity across ideological and regional divides within Balochistan, including both Pakistani-administered and Iranian-occupied areas.
- Demand Justice: Amplify calls for accountability and an end to state-sponsored violence.
In the run-up to the 25 January event, Sammi Deen Baloch, a central organizing member of the BYC, emphasized in a video message shared on 12 January 2025, that the event aims to highlight the "travesties faced by Baloch people at the hands of the State," including forced disappearances, targeted killings, and psychological oppression. Dr. Mahrang Baloch, the BYC’s leader urged religious scholars and the broader Baloch community to join, framing the struggle as a moral fight against "tyranny and injustice," drawing parallels to Islamic principles of resisting oppression. In its bid to discourage the event, police booked 25 protestors in Lyari out of whom 13 were women. Of them, 12 workers and leaders of the BYC were booked in a sedition case. A large number of women activists gathered in Malir on 19 January to condemn the police action. Senior BYC leader Dr Sabia Baloch organised an awareness march ahead of the memorial meeting on 25 January 2025. The provincial government, under pressure from the Pakistan military, imposed Section 144 in several areas of Balochistan, including Dalbandin, effectively banning large public gatherings and assemblies. Additionally, provincial authorities instructed transport operators in Dalbandin and surrounding areas to halt services for at least a week, preventing people from traveling to the event.
Despite facing significant challenges, the BYC managed to organize the gathering, and Dr. Mahrang Baloch addressed the participants, thanking them for their support. The event served as a platform to raise awareness about the ongoing human rights abuses in Balochistan and to commemorate the victims of the Baloch genocide.
Over the past few years, the Baloch conflict has gained public attention within Pakistan and outside. Due to the activities of BYC and Pakistani State’s reaction to them, not only has the issue been debated within Pakistan, but the issue has also gained attention outside the country and is being debated at various platforms. For example, reacting to the violence committed against the Baloch protestors in July 2024, in Gwadar, the Amnesty International stated that “Every time Baloch protests take place, their demands are met with violence by security forces and mass arrests.” Earlier in December 2024, the violence committed by the Islamabad Police against the “Baloch Long March” to Islamabad, led by BYC was condemned across the world.
Approach of the Pakistani State
These developments highlight two significant facets of the persistent unrest in Balochistan. Firstly, there is the evolving nature of the Baloch conflict, particularly regarding the recent intensification of armed resistance. Secondly, the peaceful demonstrations organized by the Baloch rights group, BYC, have gained considerable traction within Pakistan. The state has used excessive military force consistently in reaction to the armed insurgency, and equally repressive measures to deal with the peaceful protests, alienating the Baloch further.Â
Various armed Baloch groups that are fighting against the Pakistani state in the province have intensified their attacks. They have also changed their tactics: Pakistani security forces, non-Baloch in Balochistan and Chinese personnel and investment have become their main targets. This was exemplified by the “Operation Herof” of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in August 2024. In the attack, the BLA efficiently carried out multiple strikes across Balochistan, inflicting heavy losses on the Pakistani security forces and, more importantly, non-Baloch, especially Punjabis, who are seen as outsiders trying to occupy and plunder Balochistan’s resources.
Interestingly, the attack followed the state repression of the peaceful Baloch activists observing the “Baloch Raaji Muchi” in Gwadar in July 2024. According to the 2024 Annual report of the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad, Balochistan witnessed a 90 percent rise in violence in 2024.
Though some observers in Pakistan have targeted BYC and Dr. Mahrang for not condemning the violence committed by the Baloch militant groups, like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), and others, there is no link between the two. BYC has remained focused on the human rights issue of the Baloch, enforced disappearance and exploitation of Balochistan’s resources. Its methods have remained peaceful, involving marches and dharnas (sit-in protests).
State Narrative Challenged
The tactics employed by the BYC appear to have challenged and weakened the narrative propagated by the Pakistani State, which attributes the issues in Balochistan to terrorism allegedly supported by anti-Pakistan entities, including India. While numerous commentators within the country acknowledge that certain grievances of the Baloch people remain valid and unaddressed, they do not endorse an armed uprising against the state. Instead, they support the peaceful protests organized by the BYC and its willingness to engage in dialogue when invited by either the provincial or federal government. This situation has prompted scrutiny of the State's narrative regarding the Baloch issue in Pakistan. The BYC's non-violent approach to resistance has further exposed the flaws in this narrative. In response, both provincial and federal governments have sought to undermine the legitimacy of these protests, either by suppressing them or by associating them with terrorist activities within the country.
Various leaders of BYC have been arrested from time to time. Its head, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, who has become a household name in the country, was stopped in October from travelling abroad to attend a function to be honoured as the one of the 100 emerging leaders in the Time magazine's prestigious TIME100 Next 2024 list. This list recognizes emerging leaders who are shaping the future across various fields, including business, entertainment, sports, politics, science, and health. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) strongly criticised the action of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, where Dr. Mahrang was stopped from boarding the US-bound flight.
Advantage BYC
State violence against the Baloch has not diminished, nor has the enforced disappearance of Baloch activists ceased. Furthermore, there have been no genuine efforts to satisfactorily address the grievances of the Baloch people in Pakistan. On the contrary, the Pakistani State seems determined to utilize its military power to suppress the Baloch population rather than to engage with them in a meaningful way.
The BYC stays committed to its peaceful agenda. After the latest clampdown on the Baloch gathering in Dalbandin, BYC repeated its position that it would not bow down to the state violence and would continue its struggle for ensuring the rights of the Baloch people. The activities of BYC, have, on the one hand, raised consciousness among the Baloch about their rights; while on the other, its tactics of peaceful protests and marches seem to have frustrated the Pakistan state, as it is unable to delegitimize them by clubbing them with terror activities.
*Dr Nazir Ahmad Mir is a Research Analyst in a MEA Project at MP-IDSA, New Delhi. He can be reached at: mirnazir.kash@gmail.com
