The Director General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, accused the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) on Monday of acting as a “proxy for terrorist organizations and criminal mafias.”
The BYC, however, has firmly denied these allegations, asserting that their movement is a peaceful campaign for Baloch rights, retorting that “being proxies is a tradition of Pakistan’s military, not ours.”
During a press conference in Rawalpindi, Lieutenant General Chaudhry alleged that the BYC was working to undermine state authority by gathering crowds through foreign funding and spreading propaganda against law enforcement agencies.
He claimed that the BYC’s activities were aimed at defaming state agencies engaged in “combating smuggling and criminal activities, as well as disrupting development projects in Balochistan.”
“The method of action is through gathering a mob with foreign funding and a foreign stance, persuading innocent citizens around that mob, challenging the state’s writ, and then feigning innocence when the state responds,” Chaudhry said.
He also described the Baloch National Gathering, organized by the BYC, as a “drama” orchestrated to create unrest in the region. The military, he emphasized, would continue its operations to eliminate all forms of sabotage and extremism.
Meanwhile, in a press release issued on Tuesday, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) strongly rejected the allegations made by the Pakistani military, calling them “baseless.” The BYC accused the military of attempting to undermine their peaceful movement and deflect attention from the legitimate grievances of the Baloch people.
“Being proxies is a tradition of the military, not ours,” the group said, emphasizing that their struggle is grounded in principles and ideology, relying solely on the strength of the Baloch people. “Being an external proxy or externally funded is not part of our political traditions.”
“The military’s press conference against a grassroots political and human rights movement is, in itself, an admission that the state military is directly involved in Baloch genocide and human rights violations,” the BYC spokesperson said. “Our stance from day one has been that the state military and intelligence agencies are directly perpetrating Baloch genocide.”
The BYC called for the military to set up an inquiry committee through a neutral third party or human rights organization to investigate the allegations against the group. “If any of your allegations are proven, we will present ourselves in any court in Pakistan or the world,” the BYC spokesperson asserted. “However, if the allegations are not proven, the Pakistani military should admit to its role in the Baloch genocide and present itself for punishment.”
The group further stated, “The military’s press conference supports our stance and is an admission of guilt. Today, when thousands of people have taken to the streets against Baloch genocide and human rights violations, demanding an end to these atrocities, instead of stopping the human rights abuses and genocide, the state is conducting press conferences against a peaceful movement.”
The BYC criticized the military’s historical approach of labeling genuine political movements as foreign-funded to suppress dissent. “The military fails to understand that it is not 1970, where false propaganda and deceit can keep the public and the international community in the dark,” the group added.
The BYC highlighted that their movement against “Baloch genocide” is a purely peaceful public political movement. “It is this public strength, power, and peaceful struggle that the state finds hard to digest. Therefore, on one hand, there is an attempt to crush this public struggle using full force, and on the other hand, an attempt is being made to create a false narrative through military press conferences.”
The group made it clear that it would not retreat from its public struggle or succumb to pressure but would further organize and intensify its campaign against the “genocide” of the Baloch People. “We will organize and intensify our struggle against Baloch genocide further and will end the Baloch genocide from Baloch land through the power of the people,” the group said.