It was well and truly a show of unity all across Balochistan on April 13 as protestors in thousands chanted slogans and dared the Pakistani security forces to stop them. The protestors carried placards demanding an end to enforced disappearances in the province and the safe release of detained Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) leaders.
As the protests unfolded, a near-complete shutdown was observed in most parts of Balochistan as shops and markets remained closed. Several major transport routes were blocked, bringing daily life to a halt in all habitations of the province which forms 45 per cent of land area of Pakistan. A significant point being noticed all over Balochistan was that everywhere women and children were leading the way. This is comparatively a new trend in the conservative Baloch society where women have traditionally remained indoors.
Rampant crackdowns and forced disappearances of Baloch men by the security forces of Pakistan over the past few years has changed that with women no more willing to stay home for doing chores. The present round of protests, which had started a couple of years ago, has been mostly led by women. In this phase, it is activists like Dr Mahrang Baloch, a medico who lost her father as he was liquidated by Pakistani security forces, which have emerged to take leadership roles.
Baloch women lead marches
In most neighbourhoods, it is the women, young girls and old alike, who lead in raising the slogans against enforced disappearances, holding banners and defying the police. It was no different during Sunday’s protests, the largest so far in the recent past. Sami Deen Baloch, Beebow Baloch and many other women activists are now household names, catapulted to frontlines of the protests.
Unnerved by the massive protests, Pakistani security forces have started a massive crackdown rounding up several leaders and political activists who dare defy them. An influential social activist, Mulla Farhaad, a prominent leader of the Haq Do Tehreek, was arrested on Sunday in Turbat under Maintenance of the Public Order Act(3-MPO). According to local sources, the arrest was carried out without a formal charge, and no official explanation has been issued so far.
Mulla Farhaad’s detention comes amid a wave of arrests targeting political workers and leaders across Balochistan under the same controversial legal provision which the British had brought in to suppress nationalist leaders all over undivided India in the pre-1947 era. Leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), including Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Beebow Baloch, Beebarg Baloch and his brother Dr. Hammal Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch, and Shaji Sibghatullah, remain behind bars under 3-MPO orders, according to The Balochistan Post.
Incidentally, the leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), Sardar Akhtar Mengal, has also been served 3-MPO orders, although he has not yet been detained. The legal provision is deployed to break the will of the protestors as it allows for detention without charges up to 30 days in the first instance. Subsequently, it is often renewed by the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of any district to prolong the incarceration of the activists.
Violent Confrontations
Thousands of people across Balochistan and Karachi took to the streets on April 13 in response to a call by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), demanding the safe release of its detained leaders. The protests, which included significant participation from women and children, were met with a heavy-handed response from security forces in multiple cities.
Demonstrations were held in major cities and towns across Balochistan including Dalbandin, Kalat, Mastung, Gwadar, Quetta, Hub Chowki, and Turbat. Protesters marched through the streets chanting slogans, with many holding placards denouncing the alleged “illegal detention” of BYC leaders. In several areas, security forces attempted to forcibly disperse the crowds, resulting in violent confrontations.
Outside Balochistan, a large protest was organized in Karachi’s Baloch-majority area of Malir. Videos circulating on social media showed demonstrators chanting slogans such as “Resistance is alive,” while clashing with police. Eyewitnesses reported that police resorted to baton charges and, alarmingly, opened live fire on the protestors. The footage also shows scenes of chaos, with law enforcement seen dragging protestors, including women, on the streets in an attempt to break up the demonstration.
Heat no deterrent
In Hub Chowki, protesters braved extreme summer temperatures to demand the release of the detained BYC leadership. Social media videos from the scene show police physically assaulting both male and female demonstrators, forcibly removing them from protest sites. Despite the scorching summer heat, hundreds of protestors answered the BYC’s protest call and gathered in hundreds to demand the safe release of the “illegally detained” BYC leaders
Across Balochistan, the state responded with a heavy police presence. In cities like Turbat, Gwadar, Quetta, Mastung, and Kalat, protestors were surrounded by large numbers of police vehicles and officers on foot, who closely monitored and trailed the marches in an effort to contain and eventually dissolve the gatherings.
Reports from Khuzdar said that a complete shutter-down strike was observed as the residents gathered in the main bazar to protest the “illegal detention” of BYC leaders. Despite the crackdown, demonstrators remained defiant. They chanted slogans condemning what they called the Balochistan government’s violent suppression of peaceful dissent and accused security forces of escalating tensions through excessive use of force. Protest leaders reiterated their demand for the immediate release of BYC members, warning that protests would continue if their voices were not heard.
In Turbat, thousands of protestors took to the street to BYC’s call to demand an end to enforced disappearances and “state repression” in Balochistan. The BYC has called the crackdown “state brutality” and vowed to persist in its campaign until all detained leaders are released unconditionally.
Senior Baloch politician and Senator Jan Muhammad Buledi has accused the Pakistani state of systematically undermining Balochistan’s political, economic, and human rights—alleging that women and children are being “abused and imprisoned” as the region faces escalating unrest.
Lahore Seminar
Speaking at a seminar titled “Issues and Solutions for Balochistan” hosted by the Leader Media Group at the Lahore Press Club, Senator Jan Muhammad Buledi criticised the federal government for maintaining what he described as a “colonial attitude” towards Balochistan. He said the province’s rights had been consistently ignored since the country’s creation.
“Balochistan makes up half of Pakistan’s geographical area and is immensely rich in minerals,” Senator Buledi told the audience, which included prominent journalists Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami and Imtiaz Alam. “Yet Islamabad and the country’s rulers covet these resources while ignoring the impoverished local population.” He said that Balochistan’s mineral wealth is marketed at international conferences in Islamabad without involving Baloch representatives, leading to exploitation and the sale of natural assets at “throwaway prices.”
Census Manipulation
Senator Buledi accused federal authorities of manipulating the recent digital census by underreporting Balochistan’s population by eight million—calling it a “blatant fraud.”
“The federal government refuses to acknowledge Balochistan’s true population because doing so would increase the province’s representation in national institutions,” he said. “Even the basic right to vote is now under threat.” Buledi alleged that genuine political leadership in Balochistan is being systematically sidelined in favour of artificially created entities.
“”Political parties are now created overnight,” he said. “In the past, at least tribal chiefs and sardars were brought forward. Now, it’s drug mafias, land mafias, and contractor mafias who occupy provincial and national seats—even in the Senate.”
He accused Pakistan’s powerful establishment of deliberately undermining the democratic voice of the Baloch people, saying that major parties routinely compromise the province’s interests for short-term political gain.
Social Breakdown
Describing enforced disappearances as Balochistan’s “most critical issue,” Senator Buledi alleged that the state and its institutions now operate “above the law and constitution.”
“Corruption is rampant; appointments and transfers are openly sold. Public-sector jobs are for sale,” he said. He highlighted the role of women and children in protests demanding the recovery of missing persons and condemned the state’s response.
“In Baloch society, women are deeply respected. Yet today, they are being subjected to violence, arbitrary arrest, and imprisonment,” he said. “Instead of addressing the demands of the people, the state is criminalising peaceful protest.”
