Quetta: Former Secretary-General of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), Rahim Baloch, has strongly condemned the killing of former Baloch Student Organization (BSO) Chairman, Advocate Zubair Baloch and his companion, Nisar Baloch, describing it as “open state terrorism” and “part of the ongoing genocide of the Baloch people.”
In a statement, he said the two were deliberately targeted despite being unarmed civilians. “The martyrs Zubair and Nisar Baloch were neither armed fighters nor fugitives,” he noted. “Advocate Zubair Baloch regularly appeared in court to represent his clients. The raid by heavily armed units of the Pakistani army, FC, CTD police and intelligence agencies on his home was not meant to arrest him but to kill him.”
He added that for decades, the Pakistani military, intelligence agencies and their proxy armed groups have pursued a policy of eliminating Baloch voices. “Chairman Zubair Baloch was a strong voice against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. The state’s policy has been to silence, by force, anyone who raises their voice against disappearances, killings, exploitation of Balochistan’s resources or state oppression,” Rahim Baloch said.
He argued that the crackdown does not distinguish between democratic organizations, armed groups or human rights defenders. “The state brands every dissenting voice as part of the armed movement and uses force against them. This is not only irresponsible but also contrary to law, morality and humanity. A state that behaves this way ceases to be a state and becomes a mafia,” he stated.
Concluding his remarks, Rahim Baloch said that responsibility for enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan lies not only with security agencies but also with “sham legislatures, puppet governments and a complicit judiciary.” He emphasized that the Baloch nation would not surrender to repression and vowed that the struggle for freedom would continue.
