Kapar - a traditional temporary dwelling of the Baloch people
By Nava Thakuria*
Amid an escalated confrontation between India and Pakistan following a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, on April 22, 2025, the Baloch people have intensified their fervent quest for an independent Balochistan. This vast, resource-rich region in western Pakistan, steeped in a proud and ancient heritage, has become the epicentre of a burgeoning movement, galvanised by the indigenous Baloch population, long oppressed under Islamabad’s iron grip, and a resolute diaspora scattered across the globe.
From the dusty streets of Balochistan’s towns to the bustling cities of India, Baloch descendants are raising their voices, urging the United Nations to recognise Balochistan as a sovereign nation. In a poignant letter dispatched from Banswara, Rajasthan, the Baloch Welfare Association implored United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to champion the Balochi nation’s inalienable right to self-determination, a principle enshrined in the UN Charter and international law. The letter passionately argued that acknowledging an independent Balochistan is not merely a political act but a moral imperative to usher in lasting peace, end decades of untold suffering, and amplify the voices of a people silenced for far too long.
For over seven decades, the Baloch claim to have endured a relentless campaign of atrocities at the hands of the Pakistani state—enforced disappearances that tear families apart, brutal military operations that ravage communities, rampant resource exploitation that plunders their land, and systematic cultural suppression that threatens to erase their identity. The letter to the UN decried these actions as crimes against humanity, imperilling the very survival of the Baloch people, and issued a heartfelt appeal to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a courageous stand by recognising Free Balochistan as a sovereign state.
Such a gesture, the association contended, would not only honour India’s cherished democratic ideals but also reaffirm deep historical and cultural bonds with the Baloch.
Hyrbyair Marri, the president of the Free Balochistan Movement, speaking from his exile in London, proposed a symbolic act: transforming Jinnah’s House in Mumbai—where Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah once orchestrated India’s partition—into Balochistan House, a beacon for strategising Baloch independence.
Marri asserted that once Balochistan breaks free, Pakistan, as it exists today, will simply cease to be. In a searing article published by Balochwarna online news, he lambasted the United Nations for its perceived impartiality, accusing the global body of turning a blind eye to Balochistan’s plight while Pakistan has cynically wielded the region as a political pawn since 1947.
Pakistan, forged in the name of Islam, has done little to uphold the faith, Marri argued, with its Punjabi-dominated establishment exploiting religion to consolidate power. Islamabad’s fixation on alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir has inadvertently cast a harsh spotlight on its own egregious abuses in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which it euphemistically calls Azad Kashmir, and in Balochistan.
Prominent Balochi writer Mir Yar Baloch, seizing the moment amid the Indo-Pak conflict, took to social media to proclaim that the UN has been formally approached to recognise the Democratic Republic of Balochistan and to dispatch a peacekeeping mission to the region. He demanded that Pakistani occupational forces, along with non-Baloch personnel in intelligence and civil administration, promptly vacate Balochistan, and urged the Indian government to permit the establishment of a Baloch embassy in New Delhi, a step toward formal diplomatic recognition.
MB Marri, a steadfast member of the Free Balochistan Movement, underscored that the Baloch are not an extension of Pakistan, imploring India to view them not through the lens of Pakistani nationality but as a distinct nation with a unique history and unyielding aspirations. The Baloch, he emphasised, are an ancient people, their language, culture, and traditions woven into the fabric of a homeland they have inhabited for millennia, in stark contrast to the Punjabi-dominated Pakistani state, a construct born of colonial machinations. Their quest for sovereignty is not a fleeting impulse but a generational struggle rooted in their ancestral land.
Since Pakistan’s forcible annexation of Balochistan in 1948, the Baloch have endured “unimaginable” horrors—thousands of men, women, and children abducted, tortured, and killed by Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies. Journalists, students, and human rights activists are routinely silenced, their voices stifled by a regime that denies the Baloch their fundamental rights, freedom, and dignity. Yet, in a perverse twist, Pakistan casts itself as the victim in this geopolitical drama.
Marri passionately urged India, the world’s largest democracy, to extend its storied tradition of solidarity with oppressed peoples—from Tibetans to Sri Lankan Tamils—to the Baloch, who fight not for vengeance or extremism but for the simple right to live in dignity, freedom, and peace. He advocated Fluency in cultural, academic, diplomatic, and humanitarian engagement with the Baloch diaspora and civil society, fostering a deeper connection with a people whose struggle resonates far beyond their homeland.
As the Indo-Pak conflict rages, the Baloch movement stands at a pivotal moment, with voices rising from Banswara to London, demanding recognition of a nation’s enduring fight for freedom.
*Senior journalist
