A vast congregation assembled near Balochistan University in Quetta to warmly welcome the participants and leaders of the Turbat long march, returning from the nation's capital, Islamabad. The atmosphere was charged with anticipation.
On January 25, a multitude, comprising predominantly of young students, elderly citizens, and children, eagerly awaited the arrival of a compelling orator.
Cameras, both conventional and drone-mounted, were omnipresent, poised to document what was colloquially termed a "public referendum."
Then emerged the figure known as the 'lioness of Balochistan,' Mahrang Baloch, to address the throngs eagerly awaiting her words.
"In our homeland, the affection and regard we share among our people are far mightier than the oppression emanating from Islamabad," she declared resoundingly to the assembled multitude.
She rallied them with a chant, and the response was thunderous and unified.
It's a rarity for Balochis to rally behind a female leader, but Mahrang Baloch defies convention.
TURBAT MARCH AND ENCOUNTER WITH PAKISTAN POLICE BRUTALITY
Baloch Mahrang, alongside women, children, and elders, had just returned from Islamabad after protesting the enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch individuals in Balochistan over the years.
These protests were orchestrated under the aegis of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), with Mahrang at its helm.
Traversing a distance of approximately 1,600 kilometers from Turbat, Balochistan's second-largest city, the protestors reached the national capital on December 21, only to encounter a harsh crackdown by Islamabad Police amidst the frigid northern climate.
According to Amnesty International, at least 13 criminal cases were registered against protesters nationwide, with approximately 200 individuals arrested upon their return.
Meanwhile, tensions simmer in Pakistan as the Islamic Republic gears up for National Assembly (parliamentary) elections in less than a fortnight.
WHY THE RESURGENCE OF REBELLION IN BALOCHISTAN?
At the crux of these protests lies Balochistan's enduring tale of discrimination and exploitation at the hands of the Islamabad-Rawalpindi regime.
Systematically marginalized by Islamabad, Balochistan has borne the brunt of consistent neglect. For decades, the Baloch populace has borne witness to forced disappearances and kidnappings by security forces.
This, Mahrang Baloch initiated the 'march beyond silence.'
"What remains now but 'Resistance' against the genocidal and brutal policies of the state? This is a people's resistance, and only the people themselves can resist to end such barbaric policies," Mahrang Baloch articulated on X.
Despite being endowed with abundant natural resources, Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province bordering Iran, has witnessed scant real development, exacerbating already dire socioeconomic indicators.
Plagued by various socioeconomic disparities, approximately 41% of households in this socioeconomically disadvantaged province find themselves living below the poverty line.
Consequently, certain disenfranchised segments of the Baloch populace in Pakistan have either taken up arms or resigned themselves to the regime's indifference and authoritarianism, further alienating and depriving them.
Having persevered through decades of struggle, the Baloch movement now finds its voice in a youthful, contemplative, and valiant leader – Mahrang Baloch.
THE SPARK THAT IGNITED PROTESTS: A 24-YEAR-OLD'S DEMISE
It's a departure from the norm for Balochis to rally behind a female leader, but Mahrang is sui generis.
A trained surgeon and impassioned orator, Mahrang Baloch has emerged as a symbol of resistance against the injustices perpetrated upon the Baloch people by the Pakistani state and establishment.
The recent protests and the march from Turbat to Islamabad were catalyzed by the extrajudicial killing of a 24-year-old Baloch man, Balaach Mola Bakhsh, at the hands of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD).
According to activists and locals, the state, through its death squads, engages in abductions and extrajudicial killings.
Since 2011, Balochistan has witnessed at least 2,752 enforced disappearances, according to Amnesty International.
Individuals from Balochistan on X have accused local leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of colluding with the 'death squads of Balochistan' in executing clandestine abductions and killings. The PPP is one of Pakistan's principal political parties.
THE UNVEILING OF MAHRANG BALOCH'S COURAGE
Mahrang herself has endured the trauma of forceful abduction.
In 2009, her father was apprehended by security agencies in Karachi, only for his body to be discovered several years later, bearing unmistakable signs of torture.
Mahrang Baloch's brother suffered a similar fate in 2017.
"It was the moment I decided to protest for everyone. And I removed my veil and showed my face to everyone," Mahrang Baloch recounted to the Guardian in 2021.
Since then, Mahrang has vociferously advocated against unlawful enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and forced displacements of the Baloch people.
Mahrang Baloch's activism transcends the plight of her own people. She stands as a staunch proponent of freedom of expression, extending solidarity to oppressed groups, including the Hazara, Sindhi, Muhajir, Pashtun, Shia, Hindu, and Christian communities of Pakistan.
PAKISTAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT ON BALOCH STRUGGLES
Regrettably, the recent protests in Pakistan received scant coverage, particularly in the Pakistani media. And when they did, the narratives often fell short of encapsulating the broader cause championed by the Baloch people.
Most reports were localized, focusing on public order disruptions and police crackdowns on protesters.
"It is your journalistic responsibility to focus on the issues of the masses," implored the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), the entity spearheading the protests, to the media.
"We request national and international media to cover the National Grand Gathering of the Baloch Nation, to listen to and highlight the gross human rights abuses happening throughout Balochistan," added a BYC post on X.
On January 27, US Congressman Brad Sherman voiced his apprehension over the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan and Sindh, as reported by The Baloch
istan Post.
"Today courageous women of Balochistan hold a peace rally in Quetta to demand an end to human rights abuses by Pakistan’s military & state, including disappearances, 'kill and dump' extrajudicial killings & mass graves. I’m urging the UK to press Pakistan to ensure the safety of protestors," wrote John McDonnell, a Labour MP of the British Parliament, on X.
The aspirations of the Baloch people were palpable at the rally led by Mahrang Baloch outside Balochistan University in Quetta.
"Today it is not just a public meeting, it is not just a gathering, but it is a public referendum, it is the decision of the Baloch nation, it is the decision of the court of the Baloch people," Mahrang Baloch expressed on X, reacting to the footage of the massive gathering in Quetta.
"With this passion, consciousness, and strength, we will eradicate the last vestiges of this oppressive system from our land," she asserted.
The resounding chants of the thousands trailing behind Mahrang resonated as a clear and unequivocal call against the heavy-handed, self-serving Pakistani establishment. The status quo in Balochistan cannot persist, and Mahrang Baloch is leading the charge to dismantle that brutal system.
