Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan has been home to hostility and continued violence for years now. Sharing its borders with Iran and Afghanistan, it is rich in natural resources like coal, copper, gold and gas which are significant for the country’s mining sector.The state is still underdeveloped with about 71% of its population lives under the poverty line.Home to various ethnic groups like Baloch, Pashtuns and Brahuis, the province remains an unstable and hostile point for Pakistan with ongoing insurgency by banned militant groups which claim to fight for the rights of Baloch people, who they believe has been historically been marginalised and exploited.
Activists call for Human rights protection
Baloch activists and civilians allege that the government has been complicit in forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch people to curb the rise of militancy in Balochistan.
A non-governmental organisation, The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) represents the families of missing people in Balochistan and has registered thousands of cases of enforced disappearances in the state. Its X account (formerly Twitter) frequently shares the name and details of Baloch people who they claim go missing because of “Pakistan security forces”.
Caption: A post from X account of International Voice for Baloch Missing People (IVBMP
Additionaly, Baloch National Movement’s human rights department, PAANK, also released a report in August 2024, which highlighted the alarming rise in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan.
Women activists like Dr.Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Deen Baloch have become the face of the Baloch struggle. Both of them activists faced tragedy in their personal lives too.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch’s father who was a politician went missing in 2009, and his mutilated body was recovered in 2011 – a common phenomenon of how the disappeared people are found. Similarly, Sammi Deen Baloch’s father went missing in 2009- and still is. Sammi did not find her father, but found a larger purpose of fighting for other Baloch missing people.
In 2023 November, Baloch people from the state started a protest march towards Islamabad, which gained momentum and attracted international media attention. One of the significant development was that the march was joined by a large number of women protestors, an unlikely feature as they come from a conservative and patriarchal region.
Mahrang Baloch, organiser of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) says the Pakistan government uses “force and violence” to supress peaceful protests organised by them to highlight the “ongoing genocide of Baloch people “.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also voiced concern, urging immediate action to address the rising militancy in the province and called for a long-term political solution in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Chinese presence adding to unrest
At present, multiple Chinese infrastructure and trade projects are situated in Balochistan.
This has not gone well for the Baloch people who accuse the Pakistan government of historically exploiting the state of its natural resources.
Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) an outlawed organisation in the country which is listed as a “global terrorist organisation” by the United States of America, has carried out several attacks in the province targeting Chinese nationals and security forces.
In 2019, it released a video warning China to stop “exploitation of Baloch land”, and alleging that China’s CPEC project exploiting the state’s resources and is snatching the people of Balochistan – of its only source of income.
Nine Chinese nationals who were working on a dam were killed by a suicide bomber in August 2021. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at that time blamed Indian intelligence agency RAW and Afghanistan for the foul play behind the incident. India called the accusation baseless.
A year later in 2022, three Chinese teachers and their driver were killed in a suicide attack carried out by a woman who was associated with the BLA.
This year in October 2024, BLA carried out an attack outside the Karachi airport which killed two Chinese nationals. The attack was orchestrated a week before Islamabad was to host Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO).
Chinese consul general Yang Yungdong told reporters in Karachi that “Under Gwadar, Balochistan has great potential” and that China wants to build Balochistan into a more stable and prosperous province. Yang took note of the ongoing non-violent protests by Baloch people and said that he agrees to people’s view that without the stability of Balochistan, there is no stability in Pakistan.
Prevailing Ethnic tensions and what lies ahead
In 2014, president of the Baluchistan chapter of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that more than 300,000 people including Hindus, Shias, Hazaras, Parsis and Punjabis have left Balochistan due to incidents of violence such as suicide bombing and target killings against them. BBC also reported the BLA and Baloch separatists to have intensified their attacks on Punjabis and Sindhis from Pakistan who enter the province for work.
The insurgents however argue that they target those who they suspect are involved in state-led development projects or security services.
BLA and other outlawed rebellion groups claim to fight for the independence of Balochistan from Islamabad who they allege have exploited the province of its natural resources like gas and minerals, meanwhile ignoring the needs of the Baloch people leaving them underdeveloped.
Pakistan government headed by Shehbaz Sharif said on November 2024 that it will crackdown on BLA and other outlawed groups to curb the insurgency in Pakistan. But while the government tries to eliminate security threats, it also needs to pacify the Baloch people that their interests are being looked at.
An article in Chatham House opines that “resorting to brute force is no longer an option” and the Pakistan government should open channels of communication with “genuine representatives accountable to the people of Balochistan”.
It is evident with the repeated attacks over the years that having an autocratic approach of government and its military cannot curb the insurgency, till the grievances of Baloch people are addressed and they no longer feel alienated.
