QUETTA: A spokesperson for the Baloch Students Organization (BSO) Azad, in a statement, said that the “oppressive Pakistani state” has been forcibly occupying Balochistan for the past 78 years and ruling it through coercion. In order to maintain what they described as its forced occupation, the state is committing genocide against the Baloch nation.
The statement claims that on a daily basis, Baloch youth are subjected to enforced disappearances, severe torture, inhumane treatment, custodial killings, and staged “fake encounters,” with mutilated bodies being dumped in deserted areas. It further said that some individuals, after being released, are later killed by state-backed armed groups referred to as “death squads.” According to the spokesperson, nearly every family in Balochistan has been psychologically affected by what they termed state oppression.
The spokesperson stated that in an attempt to suppress the legitimate Baloch national liberation movement, the Pakistani military is carrying out genocide against the Baloch people. To conceal these actions, the state is spending billions of rupees on media campaigns aimed at spreading negative propaganda against the Baloch nation. It says that numerous fake social media pages and accounts are used daily to disseminate false news. The statement also accuses the state of attempting to create despair among the Baloch people by launching smear campaigns and character assassination efforts against what it describes as genuine Baloch leaders.
The spokesperson further said that the military and what they described as its “puppet government” are organizing events in universities, colleges, schools, and other educational and social institutions across Balochistan to promote what they called false narratives and to discourage youth from supporting the Baloch national movement. Additionally, the statement claims that under the pretext of public forums, residents are gathered and harassed and warned against assisting members of the Baloch national movement. It also says that families of victims are summoned to camps and pressured into recording video statements against Baloch fighters, and that refusal can lead to further enforced disappearances, which the statement terms collective punishment. The spokesperson further claimed that families of Baloch activists are targeted through so-called death squads. According to the statement, a coordinated network of paid media outlets is being used to conceal these alleged actions.
The spokesperson said that the Pakistani military is aware that the Baloch movement is, in their view, a genuine struggle supported by the public, and therefore cannot be suppressed. Instead, they said the state has imposed restrictions on independent media and relies on negative propaganda to prevent the “true story” of Balochistan from reaching the world. The statement claims that if historical realities were examined internationally, the Baloch national movement would gain global recognition and political legitimacy.
The statement concluded by urging people from all walks of life in Balochistan to remain vigilant against what it described as false propaganda and to continue supporting the movement for what it called genuine freedom. It argued that history shows popular movements cannot be crushed by force and that powerful states have ultimately been defeated by public resistance. The spokesperson maintained that the Baloch national liberation movement will continue across all fronts with determination, awareness, and strategy, and will not be undermined by negative propaganda regardless of how much the state spends to suppress it.
