State Terrorism, Media Blackout, and the Rising Resistance
Pirzada Rehan
Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan by land area, has been a center of resistance since its forcible annexation in 1948. While Pakistan claims to uphold Islamic unity, Baloch nationalists argue that Islam has been used as a tool for occupation rather than genuine religious solidarity. Pakistan may quite convincingly put forward arguments asserting the oneness of Islam. On the other hand, Baloch nationalists make the opposite argument, saying that Islam is used as an instrument of occupation. The area received a lot of violent military operations under the ‘kill and dump’ policy of Pakistan, along with enforced missing persons and extrajudicial killing. Despite all these crimes, the Baloch continue to resist in demanding autonomy and, in most instances, outright independence.
Historical Identity of Balochistan: Prior to 1948, Balochistan was not included in Pakistan or British India. The Khanate of Kalat, being the strongest Baloch state, had a treaty with the British treating it as an independent entity. When India and Pakistan became independent in 1947, the Khan of Kalat, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan, proclaimed Balochistan an independent state on August 11, 1947—three days prior to the establishment of Pakistan. However, Pakistan, under Muhammad Ali Jinnah, rejected Balochistan’s independence and used military force to annex it on March 27, 1948. The Khan had to sign an accession treaty, which generated a tide of resentment among Baloch.
To justify annexation, Pakistan employed religion as a political tool by asserting that since Balochistan was a Muslim-dominated area, it should belong to Pakistan. This was contrary to the policy of self-determination, which Pakistan itself had insisted upon for Kashmir.
The Baloch have never defined themselves in terms of religion alone. Their identity is forged in tribal ways, language, and historic independence. Islamabad’s imposition of Pakistan’s Islamic-nationalist ideology by force has resulted in tensions because the Baloch resent religious extremism and control from Islamabad. Most Baloch intellectuals contend that Pakistan practices selective Islamism—while backing militants in Kashmir in the interests of Islam, it kills, tortures, and silences Baloch Muslims who fight for their rights.
What is the ‘Kill and Dump’ Policy?Since the early 2000s, Pakistan’s security forces and intelligence agencies, especially the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) and Frontier Corps (FC), have been accused of kidnapping Baloch activists, brutally torturing them, and ultimately dumping their mutilated bodies in secluded locations. ,This policy of state repression, popularly referred to as the ‘kill and dump’ policy, is intended to gag dissent and create fear among the Baloch populace. The victims are usually political activists, journalists, intellectuals, and students who promote Baloch rights and independence. One of the most common reported tactics of repression in Balochistan is enforced disappearances,enforced disappearance being a Baloch term, which refers to someone who witnessed a crime and was taken away by the authorities. Enforced disappearances are the abduction of a person by the state, a paramilitary organization or a death squad. Most of them never come back, and their families remain in a state of constant agony, unaware of whether their loved ones are alive or dead. Groups such as the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) insist on accountability but are ignored by the Pakistani state.
The victims of enforced disappearances who are found dead usually carry gruesome marks of torture. Their bodies are commonly found with bullet injuries, broken bones, amputated limbs, and burns, reflecting the sheer brutality on their bodies. It is reported that most of the detainees undergo electric shocks, waterboarding, and other forms of inhumane treatment before they are cold-bloodedly executed. These extrajudicial executions are a threat to others who have the courage to voice their opposition to the Balochistan oppression.
The Pakistani security forces have recently taken their campaign of violence against Baloch women and even children. Usually, wars don’t involve women and children, but Pakistan doesn’t follow that as it attacks female activists and students and even relatives of missing persons. Women have been detained, threatened, and disappeared for standing up against the state.
While Pakistan actively promotes its Kashmir narrative in international circles, it maintains a tight media gag on Balochistan. Independent reporters are threatened, arrested, or forcibly taken away if they try to report human rights violations in the province. As a result of this censorship, most of the world does not know that Baloch people are systematically oppressed. Due to lack of media coverage, Pakistan continues with its merciless policies without any international backlash. Pakistan’s “kill and dump” policy has serious human rights implications as thousands of families are still looking for their loved ones. In spite of the efforts by the state to quell the resistance, the Baloch nation resists seeking justice and the right to decide their future. The world needs to raise its voice and hold Pakistan responsible for all these atrocities against humankind.
Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies have been committing serious human rights abuses in Balochistan. Security forces have forcibly abducted thousands of Baloch political workers, students, and journalists. Most of them have never been seen again while others have been found dead with torture marks. This has resulted in accusations of state-sponsored extrajudicial executions.
There is extensive censorship of independent journalism as in Balochistan. Writers are threatened, arrested, and forced to vanish whenever they attempt to reveal the reality. The media gag enables Pakistan to conceal its human rights violations from the rest of the world.
Regardless of being abundant in natural resources such as gas, coal, and minerals, Balochistan is Pakistan’s poorest province. All the wealth obtained from these natural resources is enjoyed by other provinces, while poverty and unemployment still haunt Baloch people.
According to Baloch human rights groups, over 20,000 individuals have been forcibly disappeared since the early 2000s, and thousands of mutilated corpses have been discovered. Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) has demanded international intervention. Pakistan disputes such claims, but evidence through testimonies, photographs, and international reports confirms the persistent human rights abuses in Balochistan.
Baloch Opposition to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC): The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has fueled more resentment in Balochistan, as locals see it as another form of colonial exploitation. Despite being a $60 billion project, it offers no benefits to the Baloch people, who are forcibly displaced to make way for Chinese investments. Baloch insurgents have repeatedly attacked Chinese engineers and projects, considering them partners in Pakistan’s occupation.
Pakistan occupied Balochistan in 1948 by force for various reasons. Its geographic location is crucial for defense and trade purposes as it provides sea access to Arabian Sea. The area has got massive deposits of natural resources like natural gas, minerals and coal and is thus an economic gem.
Pakistan’s leaders were concerned that if Balochistan became autonomous, it would encourage other ethnic groups such as Sindhis and Pashtuns to seek autonomy, destabilizing Pakistan’s unity. To avoid this, Pakistan employed force and incorporated Balochistan, overlooking the right of the Baloch people to self-determination.
In recent days, Balochistan has been experiencing an outburst of violent attacks, illustrating the rising conflict in the province. Train Hijacking Incident, In a latest unprecedented attack, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) militants hijacked Jaffar Express passenger train in Balochistan. The extremists ambushed the train by blasting the tracks, leading to a fatal standoff. Pakistani security officials moved to free the hostages with an operation, which resulted in serious fighting. The operation ended with 33 militants and 26 passengers, including security officers, killed. Survivors told of gruesome experiences, with others feigning death to avoid being shot. This event highlights the unstable security conditions in Balochistan.
During another recent assault, a suicide car bomber struck a convoy of buses transporting security personnel in Naushki district of Balochistan. Five officers and two civilians were killed, and ten others injured, some critically,the BLA claimed.
India has sharply condemned Pakistan’s suppression of Balochistan and revealed its double game. Balochistan was referred to by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech in 2016, where he showed solidarity with the people of Balochistan. The Indian media has successfully focused the word pressure on Pakistan’s human rights abuses against Balochistan, ensuring that Baloch activists become heard at the global level.India also calls it hypocrisy on the part of Pakistan—while falsely accusing India of human rights violations in Kashmir, Pakistan represses the Baloch with military force and enforced disappearances.
