With each passing day, tragic incidents continue to unfold in Balochistan. Rarely does a day go by without protests in some part of Balochistan against enforced disappearances and state repression. The state has formulated policies to counter the Baloch national liberation movement, the effects of which have impacted the entire Baloch society.
The abduction of Bibi Asma Jattak in Khuzdar at the hands of a state-backed squad is not the first such incident in Balochistan. In various regions of Balochistan, death squad operatives have been given free rein to commit theft, abduction, and murder in exchange for aiding the military against pro-independence activists. Members of the Balochistan Assembly have confirmed this in their speeches multiple times.
Last year, in Barkhan, Sardar Abdul Rahman Khetran abducted women and children from the Marri region and held them captive in his private jail. Due to media coverage and protests by civil society, he was arrested. However, despite concrete evidence of abduction and murder, he was acquitted because of his close ties with the ruling establishment. Later, he was even made a minister in Balochistan’s controversial government after being helped to win the elections.
State institutions in Balochistan have failed to provide justice. Disillusioned with constitutional and legal institutions, people have no option left but to protest. In the wake of the recent political resurgence in Balochistan, people have begun to see political resistance as the only means to secure their rights. The release of Bibi Asma Jattak was made possible only because her family and the Baloch nation adopted a path of intense protest against her abduction by the death squad.
Given the situation in Balochistan, it is not far-fetched to assume that such incidents will continue in the future. However, the Baloch nation is increasingly convinced that organized protests can prevent such occurrences, and through political resistance, the ongoing cycle of oppression against the people can be brought to an end.