The Baloch Liberation Army’s (BLA) Majeed Brigade, a “fedayeen” unit of the “pro-independence” armed group, has released a commemorative video message on the anniversary of Sumaiya Qalandrani’s death. Qalandrani carried out a suicide attack in Turbat on 23 June 2023, targeting a convoy reportedly carrying officers from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The newly released video includes archival footage of Sumaiya Qalandrani along with her earlier recorded messages, followed by a masked female member of the Majeed Brigade delivering a speech from an undisclosed location. The video appears to be a symbolic reaffirmation of the group’s ideological stance and a call for broader mobilisation, particularly among Baloch women.
In her statement, the female spokesperson eulogised Qalandrani, saying:
“Some blood doesn’t just spill on the ground—it seeps into it and becomes part of the flag. Sumaiya Baloch’s blood is such a flag now, waving on the faces of time. She was not merely an individual but the symbol of a century, a daughter born from the womb of mothers who raised those who dared to look history in the eye.”
She continued by asserting that Qalandrani’s death marked a turning point:
“Sumaiya’s martyrdom has cracked the very pillars of the oppressor’s empire. She was a question the enemy could never answer, a voice louder than gunfire, and a silence in which the cries of a nation echo.”
The spokesperson rejected the notion of women as passive observers in conflict, stating:
“We inherit a civilisation where a woman is not merely a gender but a force—when she weeps, she becomes a prayer, and when she roars, she becomes fate. When the enemy thought Baloch women were spectators, Sumaiya proved she was the battlefield itself, the dagger of patience, the voice of resistance in silence.”
The video underscores a broader ideological message that women are active agents in the Baloch nationalist movement, saying:
“Every daughter is Sumaiya, every mother is Shaari, and every sister is Mahal. This war is no longer fought only in the mountains—it is now in our eyes, our hearts, and our voices.”
Linking cultural identity with political struggle, the spokesperson declared:
“We are not a mourning nation—we are a nation of banners, inscribed with the blood of women. Freedom is not only the slogan of men—it is the fire hidden in the sleeves of women.”
The video concluded with a call to action for Baloch society, particularly women, to actively engage in what the group calls a revolutionary struggle:
“Let us not just grieve—let us promise. Promise that our daughters will be the titles of history, not its margins. Promise that we will answer the enemy in its own language—but with a tone that speaks not of victimhood, but of awakened resistance.”
The Majeed Brigade vowed that Qalandrani’s sacrifice would not be in vain:
“Her blood will become a direction in every daughter’s step, a dream in every mother’s eye, and an oath in every Baloch’s vein.”
The Baloch Liberation Army is a banned organisation under Pakistani law. The group has carried out numerous armed attacks over the years, including suicide bombings, targeting military and government installations, claiming to represent the Baloch nationalist cause.