The first two weeks of 2025 have been marked by turbulence. On 4th January, a suicide attack targeted a convoy of the Pakistan Army in Turbat. A few days later, the Baloch Liberation Army’s Fateh Squad and STOs launched a coordinated attack on the town of Zehri in Khuzdar District. During the assault, the Levies station was set ablaze, weapons were seized, and the town remained under the attackers’ control for ten hours. This takeover was described as an exercise in the second phase of Operation Herof.
In the aftermath of the BLA’s coordinated attack, Pakistani forces reportedly abducted 13 individuals from Zehri in what has become a routine response. Families of the missing persons have since staged sit-ins, blocking the RCD Highway at Zehri Cross and Surab. These protests have led to the recovery of some of the disappeared. In Turbat’s central Fida Shaheed Chowk, a similar sit-in has been ongoing for days, demanding the release of forcibly disappeared persons.
The past two weeks have seen a sharp rise in enforced disappearances across Balochistan, with nationalist parties voicing concerns that state institutions may execute individuals already in custody, framing them as Baloch fighters. Recoveries of the forcibly disappeared have so far only been achieved through public protests. For this reason, the public has been steadfast and organised in their demonstrations, continuing to push back against state oppression and demand the release of the missing.
As the Baloch Liberation Army’s sophisticated and intensified attacks escalate, so too does state repression. In response to the lethal offensives by Baloch armed organisations, state institutions have resorted to abducting ordinary citizens and allegedly killing individuals already in custody. However, the national movement against state oppression has galvanised the public, who are now choosing to confront these atrocities through vigorous and organised protests rather than remaining silent.