By Lateef Johar Baloch & Joshua Bowes
Introduction
Balochistan is an understudied and underreported region of the world, caught in a violent inter-state conflict. The Baloch people, an ethnic group homing and tied culturally to Balochistan for centuries, have been a minority in Pakistan’s administrative boundaries since 1948. Neighboring Iran also has a province within the Balochistan region, named Sistan and Baluchestan province, which was separated from Balochistan by the British in 1928. The Baloch people originate from Iran’s northwestern lands and have sought to establish an independent state since at least the 19th century. Decades of suppression from Pakistan’s central government have resulted in several political uprisings and armed incursions against the state. Despite being a coastal hub of geopolitical and strategic importance on land rife with reserves of natural resources and rare earth minerals, Balochistan is a deeply impoverished area. The Baloch people allege that all investment agreements, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as well as projects carried out by Barrick Gold Corporation in Reko Diq were signed without their consent and participation, and no important information about the contracts was made available to them. On top of the lack of consent from locals, employment opportunities across the spectrum, from hard labor to upper-level positions have been outsourced to foreigners, largely Chinese nationals, who have invested enormously in the region, leaving the Baloch people powerless and socially immobile. The Balochs who speak and campaign against the impacts of these projects and unfair policies are militarily suppressed and silenced.
“Operations spearheaded by Pakistan’s military and its all-powerful intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), who are dually complicit in the state’s intimidation and repression tactics, have resulted in thousands of forcible abductions, extrajudicial arrests, and killings..”
The Militarization of Balochistan and Foreign Investment
On May 18, 2024, the Baloch Yakjehti Community (BYC), a rights-defending unity organization, announced a conference against the fencing of Gwadar, where China invested billions to build a port and economic corridor, at Quetta Press club, forcing out the local people to make room for Chinese workers and investors. Because of Chinese projects, the Pakistani government is segregating some parts of Gwadar Town, restricting access to locals to make room for Chinese workers and investors. However, the Pakistani police and administration ordered the Press club not to allow the conference to happen. The order was implemented with a military crackdown before the event started. According to Dawn.com, “a heavy contingent of police headed by SSP Operation and Quetta DIG cordoned off the press club building and the adjacent Quetta Metropolitan Corporation (QMC) office.” Such flagrantly aggressive military actions to stop a small peaceful conference expose the virulent control and repressive agenda of state authorities in Balochistan. Later on, June 7, the police register a case against Mahrang Baloch, the leader of the BYC). Allegations of human rights violations. enforced disappearances and campaigns of widespread online censorship have become rampant. Operations spearheaded by Pakistan’s military and its all-powerful intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), who are dually complicit in the state’s intimidation and repression tactics, have resulted in thousands of forcible abductions, extrajudicial arrests, and killings, which the Human Rights Watch termed as the “kill and dump” policy of the state, which has internally displaced tens of thousands and sent scores of others into refuge. For those who have managed to flee, state-sponsored campaigns of remote transnational surveillance have followed, leaving dissidents of the diaspora fearing for their lives. As reported by the Human Rights Council of Balochistan, there were 601 cases of enforced disappearances and 525 reported murders in 2023. The Baloch armed resistance groups also claim some killings from these figures, labelling the victims as “informers” involved in the state counter-insurgency operations. The rest were perpetrated by Pakistani security forces and unknown armed militants or attackers, which several human rights and many Balochs attribute to shadowy forces, locally known as death squads, of the Pakistan army. On a regular basis, Baloch activists and human rights campaigners face harassment and violence. The majority of those who are forcibly abducted or killed are men. As such, Baloch women have been at the forefront of a peaceful movement protesting the state-sponsored violence. However, several cases of women’s abductions have been reported recently.
“Hundreds of wives and children of the victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings who participated in the march were subjugated to campaigns of intimidation and disinformation, as well as extrajudicial arrests and detentions.”
Protests came to a turning point on November 23, 2023, after the killing of a Baloch youth named Balaach Mola Bakhsh. Two activists, Sammi Deen Baloch, secretary general of Voice for Missing Baloch Persons (VBMP), and Mahrang Baloch, the leader of the BYC, both of whom have fathers disappeared by the state, mobilized a sit-in movement in Turbat, Balaach’s home city. Balaach’s family claimed that he was taken by the state’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on October 29, 2023, from his home. Still, before he could make a scheduled court appearance on November 24, 2023, The CTD killed him in a fake confrontation that the state described as an exchange of clashes with “terrorists,” referring to the insurgents, who define themselves as “freedom fighters.” Over the coming days, the Turbat protest had formed into a 1,600-kilometer march, named ‘The Long March,’ to Islamabad. Hundreds of wives and children of the victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings who participated in the march were subjugated to campaigns of intimidation and disinformation, as well as extrajudicial arrests and detentions. As reported by Amnesty International, the police cut off electricity to the protest site and prevented the supply of food and blankets, leaving protesters suffering in the frigid weather. Throughout the march, protesters were attacked, unlawfully detained, and confined to specific areas by barbed wire. In Islamabad, police used tear gas, batons, and water cannons against the protesters. State officials violently deny the Baloch’s desire for an independent Balochistan and have waged accusations of terrorism against many Balochs, including using allegations of terrorism as a means of explaining the thousands of disappearances, suggesting they have been legally arrested. Baloch insurgent groups, declared terrorists by the state, have taken up arms against Pakistan, and are active in the region, waging attacks against state security forces. Balochistan’s deteriorating political and violent environment created by the Pakistani military and its affiliated private actors’ remain unknown to most of the international community due to the state’s intimidation of journalists, media reporters, academics, and human rights organizations. Local journalists and HRDs are threatened, harassed, and verbally and physically abused. According to Mahrang, 25 police cases were filed against the BYC leaders and members since their long march.
After the BYC and Baloch protestors were harassed and defamed in Islamabad, they returned to Balochistan, deciding to put the case “in the court of the Baloch people.” The public welcomed them by huge crowds. The latest and historic event called “Baloch Raji Muchi (Baloch National Gathering),” was scheduled for July 28 in Gwadar as part of its mass public campaigns. However, the Pakistani government and military once again responded with brutal actions, abducting dozens of activists and peaceful protests. The military shut down all major highways in Balochistan, blocking all entries to Gwadar to stop the people from joining the cause from all over Balochistan and Sindh.
The government shut down the internet and mobile services in several districts, with heightened censorship focused on Gwadar, making it hard for locals, particularly media and human rights organizations, to get updates about the situation in the region. The government threatened to prevent human rights organizations, journalists, and media outletsfrom covering the BYC’s gatherings, protests, and the ongoing situation in Balochistan. The footage shared by the activists and the victims shows the military attacking, beating, and directly firing at the peaceful protestors, including stopping ambulances with patients. On July 29, two armed men were spotted near the stage of the gathering and later detained by protesters. They confessed to being members of Military Intelligence (MI) and claimed to be sent to assassinate BYC leaders. Despite the heavy military response and violence, the BYC stood with its demands and forced the regime to accept them, at least for now. The government might not hold its promises and implement the demands. Still, the BYC made history by showing a robust, peaceful public and political power, which many consider a new era in Balochistan. This era also suggests the emergence of youth and women-led resistance with more manifested demands and an organized structure. The region desperately needs such peaceful public movements. The international community should not ignore these public uprisings.
Transnational Repression & Cross-Border Censorship
At the same time, international journalists face strict restrictions when entering Balochistan, making the region a “black hole for information.” Declan Walsh, the then-chief correspondent of the New York Times in Islamabad, was kicked out of the country in 2011. He believes his expulsion was also due to his attempts to report on the Balochistan issue, which explains how far the state goes to block internally sensitive information from becoming public. Many believe the restrictions on media also aim to hide the state-sponsored terror groups’ violence in Balochistan. For example, popular religious sectarian figures, such as Shafiq Mengal, allegedly masterminded hundreds of forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch activists and members of religious minorities, including the deposition of mass graves discovered in Khuzdar in 2014. Instead of acting against these figures, the Pakistan military protects and makes them members of parliament through rigged elections that tear down any semblance of progressive politics, reinforcing the unrelenting fear of retaliation felt by many Baloch activists. During a recent by-election, Pakistan’s ruling parties, PMLN and PPP, who are alleged military partners, unequivocally endorsed Mr. Shafiq for a provincial assembly seat contest in the Khuzdar district. Recently, a local party alleged that the current provincial regime, which the military brought to the government of Balochistan, also granted millions of rupees in funding to Mr. Shafiq.
“The Pakistani state has declared armed resistance forces as terrorists, defending state-sponsored violence. However, Balochs reject the state narrative, saying their struggle is addressing and protecting their rights, resorting to sovereignty to become independent.”
Baloch political organizations and armed insurgents declare Pakistan’s military violence and oppressive policies as an attack on their dignity, culture, and a violation of their fundamental rights. Several international organizations and academic reports have condemned the state’s infringement of Baloch self-determination and land ownership. Baloch armed insurgency is criticized by many Balochs that disagree with the policies of Baloch militant groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF). Still, the majority of locals widely support militancy, believing that armed resistance is crucial to responding to the violence of the Pakistani military and the state’s fixation on provincial militarization and the forcible extraction of Balochistan’s natural resources. The Pakistani state has declared armed resistance forces as terrorists, defending state-sponsored violence. However, Balochs reject the state narrative, saying their struggle is addressing and protecting their rights, resorting to sovereignty to become independent. Traditionally, the state narrative has been at the center of discourse and news for decades, leaving the stories and perspectives of the Baloch people unacknowledged. However, this has changed due to social media and the increasing waves of Baloch Diaspora, many of them political and human rights activists forced to leave their homes and now living in exile, educating themselves on the international mechanisms required to make official grievances clear and obvious. The Diaspora has and created solidarity with those who support human rights and decolonization movements globally. However, those who escaped the state’s atrocities in Balochistan and continue their activism and advocacy, cannot escape the fear of being targeted by a clandestine attacker, even internationally. Reports have exposed several cases of Pakistan’s transnational harassment campaigns, as well as acts of violence against Baloch activists in exile. State-sponsored transnational violence must be immediately addressed by the countries in which Baloch activists take refuge as well as international bodies and human rights organizations to more readily address the Balochistan issue, galvanizing a concerted effort to find a peaceful solution to the political conflict entrenched within Baloch land and the central government. It is imperative that the state’s violent militarization of Balochistan is put to an end.
Reflections on the Path Forward
“The international community should prioritize the Balochistan people’s suffering, concerns, and perspectives, which have always been ignored.”
As the Balochistan conflict is deeply rooted in the violation of civil liberties, including the right to self-determination, the Pakistani state continues to wage its decades-long campaign of militarization and social repression. Given the extent of egregious state-sponsored violence and the abduction and murder of thousands, it is unreasonable to expect armed Baloch political organizations to give up. Therefore, if not addressed cautiously and carefully, the conflict will continue to disturb the economic and geopolitical interests of the great powers that are active in the region, including for Washington. The US-China competition for global hegemony, particularly focused on mineral supremacy in Balochistan and the surrounding area, will only intensify. For those with economic interests, Balochistan is a watershed fighting ground. CPEC is emblematic of this concern. With this in mind, it is imperative that the great powers acknowledge and respect Balochistan’s ancient history. Recognition that the dignity and sovereignty of all should catalyze the development of a peaceful resolution.
The international community should prioritize the Balochistan people’s suffering, concerns, and perspectives, which have always been ignored. Any final decisions regarding Balochistan and other suppressed states, such as Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir, must include the locals’ consent and participation. Otherwise, all attempts for long-lasting stability and peace in the region will fail and subsequently cause further loss of human life, disturbing the sanctity of Balochistan’s ancient land enmeshed within local history.
Joshua Bowes is a Research Associate with The Millennium Project’s South Asia Foresight Network (SAFN) in Washington, D.C. Lateef Johar is a Researcher, Human Rights/ Env Advocacy & Community Engagement Consultant. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors.
