The Baloch National Movement paid its tributes to activist Karima Baloch on her first death anniversary. In a media statement, the BNM said that Karima Baloch was a rare breed – once in a century such people are born who have the determination and courage to transform an entire society and infuse a new soul in it. She spent her life struggling against the enslavement of the Baloch nation and conveyed the message of the Baloch national struggle to the common folk. Her services and sacrifice for the Baloch cause are unparalleled, the BNM said.
Karima Baloch was the former chairperson of the Baloch Students Organization Azad (BSO-Azad) and the trailblazer for women’s participation in student politics. She took control of BSO-Azad at a critical juncture of its existence – the Baloch national struggle was in a disarray and the Pakistani state was ruthlessly cracking down on dissent. Baloch human rights activists, journalists, political workers and student leaders were being abducted en masse, allegedly by the Pakistani security forces. Many of these unfortunate souls were tortured for years and then killed; numerous others are still missing to this day.
Karima Baloch revitalized the Baloch struggle and gave it a new life. She not only reinvigorated the BSO-Azad to its previous strength but also paved the way for women’s participation in student politics. The Baloch women found a true leader in her and followed her footsteps. The flame she kindled back then has now morphed into a conflagration – the Baloch women are now playing an equal, if not more, vital role in the Baloch struggle as their male counterparts.
In its media statement, the Baloch National Movement said that Karima Baloch had to sustain the wrath of the Pakistani state for her activism. Her friends, close companions, relatives and family members were abducted, killed or threatened on daily basis. But she never lost courage; she stood her ground and valiantly fought for her rights. Her house was raided several times and her family members were harassed. She was ultimately forced to leave everything behind and flee her homeland. For years, she sought asylum in a foreign country, but even there she was not spared. The Pakistani intelligence agencies threatened her, but she did not give in. She valued the Baloch struggle more than her life, and she employed every method at her disposal to raise her voice. She used every forum, every platform to highlight the plight of the Baloch nation, the BNM said.
The BNM further said that the Pakistani state could tolerate this, so they assassinated her in Canada. But little did they know that Karima Baloch is not an individual, but an idea. They can kill a person but they can’t kill an ideology. Karima Baloch was not permanently silent – her vision still flows through the veins of every Baloch out there, the BNM said.
The Baloch National Movement said that the desperate Pakistani state did not leave Karima Baloch even after her death. When her dead body was flown from Canada to Karachi to be escorted to her hometown Tump for burial, the Pakistani state prevented thousands of Baloch and Sindhi admirers at gunpoint from getting the last glance of her. They proved their cowardice when they hijacked her convoy and forcefully brought her dead body back to Balochistan. Then they cordoned off the area and did not allow the thousands of admirers who had gathered from different areas of Balochistan to see their leader one last time.
The BNM said that Karima Baloch deeply loved Balochistan and its people and she could not see her homeland engulfed in darkness. Even in exile, she played her part in the Baloch struggle and highlighted the plight of the Baloch nation before the world. Her sacrifices are unprecented she is undoubtedly the “Ruzhn-e-Balochistan”, the BNM said.