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By Dilshad Baluch
Balochistan, Pakistan’s southwestern province, has long been riven by strife. The province is Pakistan’s poorest, yet it is home to many of the country’s national resources – a contradiction not lost on the native Baloch people, who see a tendency by the country’s leaders to exploit their homeland. Unaddressed Baloch grievances have fueled a bloody history of insurrection, and the government has responded with a security crackdown.
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Amid these longstanding dynamics, a new force has emerged: the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). Beginning in 2020, the movement – largely led by Baloch women – has focused on peaceful protests demanding the basic rights of Baloch people, especially an end to enforced disappearances. In this exclusive interest, BYC leader Dr. Mahrang Baloch speaks to journalist Dilshad Baluch about the movement, the state’s response, and the future of Baloch rights in Pakistan.
Could you please provide a brief background on the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC)? When and why was it formed, what were its initial objectives, and how has it evolved over time?
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) traces its origins to the Bramsh Yakjehti Committee, which was formed after Malik Naz was brutally killed by state-backed death squads in Balochistan [in May 2020]. The movement was launched to seek justice for her and to amplify the voice of her daughter, Bramsh.
During this period, Banok Karima Baloch was assassinated in Canada, and Hayat Baloch, a student at Karachi University, was killed by Frontier Corps firing in Balochistan. Witnessing these injustices and the increasing human rights violations by the Pakistani state, the movement evolved. Recognizing the widening gap in Baloch politics due to Pakistan’s escalating crackdown on the Baloch movement, the Bramsh Yakjehti Committee was restructured and renamed as the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).
In 2023, the BYC led a historic march following the extrajudicial killing of Balach Maula Bakhsh by the Counter-Terrorism Department. This march, protesting enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the genocide of Baloch people, started from Turbat, Balochistan, and reached Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. Since then, BYC has organized several major protests, including the Baloch National Gathering in Gwadar and the Baloch National Gathering in Dalbandin, continuing its struggle for justice and human rights in Balochistan.
Read Full Interview with Dr. Mahrang Baloch Here.
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