By Meerak Baloch
Baloch students are enduring severe hardships across educational institutions in Pakistan and Balochistan. From profiling and harassment to the forcible abduction by Pakistani intelligence agencies, the plight of Baloch students is one of continuous struggle. Enforced disappearances in educational institutions have become a grim reality.
While many students face difficulties such as the lack of facilities, the specific suffering of Baloch students extends beyond that. They experience harassment, profiling, and in many cases, forcible abduction—a reality that has persisted for over two decades, rooted in a state policy targeting the Baloch people. Enforced disappearances, particularly in Balochistan, have a long and tragic history. Since 2018, the state has employed various tactics aimed at suppressing Baloch students, turning educational institutions into what can only be described as mental concentration camps.
Several examples highlight these policies of annihilation. From forcible detention and mental genocide to the cultural assimilation of Baloch individuals, the state’s actions have been deliberate. Focusing specifically on UET Khuzdar, the only technical institution that stands as a symbol of the Baloch legacy, Baloch students have endured open gunfire and grenade attacks on campus. Their resistance, and the martyrdom of some, has added a new chapter in the Baloch struggle for dignity and identity.
The annihilation policies of UET Khuzdar’s administration cannot be overlooked. In 2011, Baloch students were killed on campus grounds, and cultural events were targeted with grenade attacks. Despite these attacks, the students’ resistance and the resulting sacrifices strengthened the movement, giving further momentum to the ongoing Baloch struggle.
In 2021, Shahmeer Baloch, a student in the Computer Systems Engineering Department, was forcibly abducted. It was only through relentless resistance that he was eventually released. Today, the university administration has adopted new tactics aimed at the moral genocide of Baloch students. By establishing so-called organizations, societies, and committees, they attempt to divide the student body and divert their focus to irrelevant activities. Simultaneously, Baloch students are pressured to sign affidavits pledging not to participate in political activities—a right enshrined in Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution.
However, this policy of depoliticization has been met with resistance. Protests and strikes have become a regular occurrence at the university. A two-phase protest lasting 20 days in 2023, alongside the 2011 attack and subsequent resistance, stand as prominent examples of the students’ unwavering struggle.
This oppressive behavior towards Baloch students is not limited to UET Khuzdar; educational institutions across Pakistan share a similar approach. Just as an oppressor dehumanizes the oppressed, these institutions act as agents of oppression, systematically working to erase the Baloch identity and suppress the voices of Baloch students.
Our survival as a nation, and as students, depends on resistance—constant and unrelenting resistance.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Balochistan Post or any of its editors.