On the evening of 17th January, in Hub Chowki, an awareness campaign was underway for the “Baloch Genocide Memorial Day,” set to be observed on 25th January with a rally in Dalbandain. During this time, an attempted armed attack was made on the leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, Sammi Deen Baloch. As a result, two suspicious individuals were arrested, and weapons, identity cards, and videos and photos of protestors used for profiling were recovered from their possession. It has been reported that these individuals were associated with Pakistan’s intelligence agencies.
Earlier, during the Baloch Raaji Muchi in Gwadar, an attempt was made to attack the central organiser of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, during which an operative of Military Intelligence was apprehended.
Rather than addressing the legitimate demands of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), such as ending state repression and enforced disappearances, Pakistan’s ruling authorities continue to adopt oppressive measures. These include filing repeated FIRs against Baloch leaders, baton-charging peaceful gatherings, and arresting Baloch women. All these actions are futile attempts to suppress the movement.
The policymakers of Pakistan are repeatedly making historical mistakes by believing that the arrest or harm of Baloch leaders can extinguish the Baloch national movement. However, the reality is that neither in the past did the killings of Baloch leaders suppress the movement, nor will such tactics succeed now.
Pakistan’s military dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, once said they would strike the Baloch so hard that they wouldn’t know what hit them. Yet, despite military aggression, enforced disappearances, massacres, and state oppression in Balochistan, the struggle for Baloch independence has persisted for over two decades. In fact, it has intensified and become more sophisticated over time.
Instead of learning from historical mistakes, Pakistan’s powerful institutions are engrossed in repeating them. Such an approach could have dire consequences for the state.