Pakistan’s powerful state institutions continue to rely on the use of force to suppress dissent, as evidenced by their response to the Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s peaceful protest. The sit-in led by the Balochistan National Party (Mengal) demanding the release of women leaders from the Committee was dealt with using the state’s usual heavy-handed tactics. Once again, the public and local businesses are left to bear the brunt of these misguided policies. A government that claims to uphold a stable environment for capitalism has, through its ill-conceived actions, inflicted financial losses amounting to millions of rupees upon the local trading community.
Controversial government officials in Balochistan have taken to holding press conferences in a sustained effort to equate the Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s peaceful civil resistance with terrorism. These repeated attempts only serve to highlight the government’s lack of seriousness and strategic clarity. As a result of these short-sighted policies, two of Balochistan’s key highways have been blocked for the past fifteen days. Major travel routes have been rendered unusable, with containers placed on roads and trenches dug out, effectively cutting off public movement.
Baloch nationalist parties have repeatedly warned the state that peaceful movements cannot be crushed through force. Resistance that emerges in response to state repression cannot be extinguished with further coercion. The widespread shutter-down strikes, rallies, and protests throughout Balochistan in reaction to state policy are clear indicators that the public resistance will persist, despite the incarceration of Baloch leaders.
The sit-in protest in Mastung, led by Sardar Akhtar Mengal, has now entered its fifteenth day. It demands the release of political activists, including Dr Mahrang, Beebo Baloch, Bebarg Baloch, and Sibghatullah Shah Ji, among hundreds of others. Yet, rather than acknowledging the deteriorating situation in the province, state institutions continue to carry out home raids in search of political activists. The arrest and reported torture of Gul Zadi Baloch further exemplifies this alarming trend. The failure of Pakistan’s judiciary to deliver justice, coupled with the obstinance of state institutions, is contributing to the deepening crisis in Balochistan.