The Paki establishment’s brutal crackdown on Baloch youth continues, as yet another student, Yasir Baloch, has gone missing under suspicious circumstances in Karachi. Yasir, a resident of Malir, disappeared on the night of February 24-25 while returning home from Gulshan-e-Iqbal after meeting his friends. His family and friends have been unable to contact him since.
Yasir Ali, son of Sabzal Ali, was a Media Sciences student at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University. He left Gulshan-e-Iqbal around 10:30 PM for his home in Juma Malir Goth but never made it back. His disappearance follows the same disturbing pattern of enforced disappearances targeting Baloch students, activists, and intellectuals across Pakistan.
His family fears that Yasir has been abducted by Army-backed agencies, just like countless other Baloch students who have been forcibly disappeared for daring to belong to a community that the Paki establishment has long sought to silence. They have made a desperate appeal for his immediate release, demanding to know his whereabouts.
Earlier on Thursday, Pak forces abducted another young Baloch, Sabir, son of Ali Dost, from Karachi’s Lyari area. Sabir, originally from Gresha, Khuzdar, was taken into custody by Pak security forces and shifted to an undisclosed location. Reportedly, he was detained without justification, and his whereabouts remain unknown.
The systematic abduction of Baloch youth exposes the true face of Pakistan’s military-controlled regime, which continues to treat POB and its people as colonial subjects. Enforced disappearances have become a weapon of terror wielded by Punjabi Paki establishment agencies, who operate with absolute impunity.
Russia says ‘Enough is Enough’ and Invades Ukraine.On 24 Feb 2022 exactly three years back, Russia invaded Ukraine as a Special Operation, along the entire Ukrainian front. The attack though expected, caused outrage and wasuniversally condemned including by the United Nations. However, one cannot but note that out of 181 nations that voted for, 5 voted against, and 35 abstained on the resolution condemning Russia. India abstained but concurrently stated that attacking the sovereignty of another nation is not acceptable. The world appreciated PM Modi’s advice to Putin on the sidelines of the Tashkent SCO Summit saying, “I know that today’s era is not an era of war …..”.
Breaking News on Ukraine. On 19 Feb 2025 US President Donald Trump denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a “dictator”, and blamed him for attacking Russia, and warned he had to move quickly to secure peace or risk losing his country. US special envoy to the Middle East (now expanded to Ukraine) Steve Witkofftold CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ on Sunday 23 Feb 2025 that, “The war didn’t need to happen. It was provoked. It doesn’t necessarily mean it was provoked by the Russians.” He reiterated, “There were all kinds of conversations back then about Ukraine joining NATO. That didn’t need to happen. It basically became a threat to the Russians”. Thesame day, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was “fair to say it’s a very complicated situation”, and Trump officials publicly declined to characterize Russia as the provocateur in its war against Ukraine. Jeffrey Sachs (an internationally renowned American economist and public policy analyst) has been saying it all along, and shocked the EU Parliament on 23 Feb by blaming USA squarely for the events leading to Ukraine War, and the EU for tamely following the US lead. Negotiations between USA and Russia to end the war; without Ukraine and EU participation, are ongoing in Riyadh, and both have expressed satisfaction on the direction of the talks.
European Geo-Politics Upended.It has been known to the rest of the World except Western Europe that Europe was no longer the centre of the World. The USA has been signaling that for some time, but Trump 2.0 has officially confirmed it. The pivot to Asia has been concretised by USA throwing NATO and Ukraine under the bus. It is especially ironic, because as early as mid 1990s when NATO started its Eastwards expansion, it was USA which started the bipolar great game of subduing/neutralizing Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. US wassecure in their cocoon of being a unipolar hegemonic power; and Europe played along. It is a well-documented fact that EU and USA had categorically stated that they will NOT expand NATO Eastwards; but instead kept creeping East and signaled the distinct possibility of Ukraine joining NATO. President Zelensky of Ukraine became the puppet dancing to their tune, and for mainly personal aggrandisement encouraged the move and took concrete steps towards it.
Current Operational Situation of the War
Source: Institute for the Study of War
A Strategic Military Overview of the War.Three years since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia occupies roughly 20 percent of the country after gaining approximately 112250 Sq kms of territory till end 2024; mainly East of Dniper River, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Mariupol Oblasts/Provinces. Ukraine in a bold, surprising counter-offensive, has occupied roughly 1000 Sq kms of Russian territory in the Kurksk oblast. These Ukrainian troops, remain surrounded by Russian forces; privately Ukraine commanders admit that this manoeuvre is a strategic failure, and has proved costly in men and material. Russia continues to bombard Ukrainian cities, while Ukraine maintains drone attacks on Russian ships and military vehicles. Since January 2022, Ukraine has received about $407 billion in aid, including over $118 billion from the USA, with clear indications of donor fatigue. Fighting and air strikes have inflicted over 40,000 civilian Ukrainian casualties, while 4 million people are internally displaced, and 6.8 million have fled Ukraine. 14.6 million people need humanitarian assistance.Ukrainian military casualty figures vary wildly, and are expected to be as much as Russia. Russian casualties are estimated to be 160,000–165,000 Russian soldiers, officers, contract troops, mobilized personnel, and other fighters have been killed since February 2022.
While the Russian economy is under severe strain, they have surprised the West by their resilience, and its war ‘economic and industrial’ machine is at full momentum compared to the entire NATO countries combined, in terms of armaments, munitions, and war like stores production.
EU and NATOs Response.The Europeans are outraged and caught totally off guard. They are scrambling to decide ‘how to respond and what to do’. Hectic meetings and parleys between European leaders and with Trump administration including President Trump are ongoing. For too long they have sailed under the US security umbrella, and are neither prepared militarily, logistically and even economically to join combat against Russia directly; however, there is fair amount of grandstanding going on. They feel that USA is pre-emptively ceding fundamental and long-held positions to Russia in the hope of ending a war it is not fighting; making the situation more untenable and unstable for them. They believe that this will be the green signal for Russian hegemony and expansionism into Europe, sooner rather than later. IISS in their referenced paper call it a ‘strategic surrender’, and an ‘orderly capitulation … to obtain some political concession’. Currently, EU and NATO are at their wits end trying to evaluate their options and response both diplomatically, geo-politically and most vitally militarily.
Transactional Trump.It is vintage transactional Trump at his best; keep his campaigning promise of resolving the Ukraine and Gaza Wars as also transact the optimal deal for USA as part of MAGA (Make America Great Again). Not only will he negotiate a grand rapprochement with Russia, force Europe to take care of its own security, thus saving on military involvement (pull out US troops) and security guarantees saving billions of dollars. By extending friendly overtures to Putin, Trump hopes to drive a wedge in well cemented Russia-China ties, and creates wherewithal and opportunity to pivot to Asia and specifically China. It also provides him an opportunity to explore new trade and investment opportunities globally. With Ukraine, Trump has announced the end of aid, and reportedly threatened to cut the essential Starlink satellite link while demanding access to mineral wealth on onerous terms. To the utter dismay of EU leaders, Trump has announced the second round of talks with Russia starting 25 Feb at Riyadh. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two sides have broadly agreed to pursue three goals: to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow; to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks; and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation.
Putin the Grand Strategist.Amidst all this, Putin it seems ‘is laughing all the way to the bank and geo-strategic victory’. To be sure, this is just the beginning of fairly long drawn out negotiations. However, Russia would be happy if it retains the land East of River Dneiper (specifically Luhansk and Donetsk oblast), gets a formal guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO, and no European peacekeepers will be deployed in Ukraine(Putin has categorically refused European presence in Ukraine). Officially a Russian diplomat told the RIA news agency that “Russia wants a long-term peace deal over Ukraine that tackles what it regards as the root causes of the conflict and not a quick US backed ceasefire”. This would also create opportunities for geo-political and economic domination of Europe, and resurgence of Russian power.
An Uncertain Global Re-alignment.In an interesting ironical twist, the oft quoted statement by Kissinger about America that “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal”, holds even more true for President Trump. However, one feels that both in the case of the Gaza and Ukraine war, he has given them a lot of thought, and beyond the brinkmanship and grandstanding lies a global strategic vision; which will enrich USA geo-politically and economically, and will also extend American hegemony globally. In this transactional blitzkrieg, Trump hopes to shake up the world to USA’s advantage, and if in the process it stops ongoing wars and conflicts; it will leave a Trumpian stamp on the world stage. Trump 2.0 has unleashed a barrage of actions, tariffs, aspirations and announcements including hegemonic (Canada, Greenland, Panama Canal), which will certainly accelerate the ongoing geo-political flux globally. Only time will tell what actually transpires, specifically the Ukraine war. India a growing balancing power, can find many opportunities to develop and grow into a confident middle power, in this world of Trumpian flux.
Protests against enforced disappearances, targeted killings, and fake encounters orchestrated by the Pakistan Army continue to sweep across Pak-occupied-Balochistan, with rallies held in Quetta, Pasni, and Naseerabad. Hundreds of protesters, including women and children, took to the streets, demanding justice and accountability for the Army’s crimes.
In Quetta, a massive rally started from Sariab Link Road and concluded at Kambaran Road, where demonstrators raised slogans against the Pakistan Army’s brutal tactics. Protesters accused security forces of accelerating their campaign of abductions and extrajudicial killings to silence Baloch dissent.
Leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, addressing the gathering, condemned the growing number of enforced disappearances and fake encounters, stating that the Paki establishment has turned POB into a military-occupied territory where the Army and its intelligence agencies operate with impunity. “If anyone is guilty, let the courts decide. Why is the Army acting as judge, jury, and executioner?” they questioned.
Meanwhile, a similar protest erupted in Murad Jamali, where demonstrators chanted slogans against Army-backed death squads responsible for eliminating Baloch activists and intellectuals. The protesters also condemned the recent killings of Baloch youth Kareem Dad and Miraj Baloch in Turbat-Kech, calling their deaths part of the military’s systematic campaign to wipe out Baloch identity. Additionally, the Pakistan Army’s latest search operation in the Chattar area of Naseerabad, which resulted in the abduction of several individuals, was strongly denounced.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee has vowed to continue protests across POB, asserting that the occupying-state has intensified its crackdown against the Baloch people. “The surge in targeted killings and enforced disappearances is not a coincidence but a deliberate policy to crush Baloch aspirations for freedom,” the committee stated. It further said that the Pakistan Army and intelligence agencies of using death squads and proxy militias to terrorize the population, calling it a war against an entire nation.
In the coastal town of Pasni in Gwadar, another rally saw families of disappeared persons carrying pictures of their missing loved ones, pleading for their safe return. Speakers at the event condemned the Pak Army’s crimes, labeling them as part of an ongoing Baloch genocide. They demanded international intervention to hold the Pakistan Army accountable for its war crimes and called on human rights organizations to break their silence on Balochistan’s plight.
Islamabad once again stands exposed for its brutal suppression of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), as Pak security forces launched yet another crackdown on peaceful activists. In a brazen display of Army terrorism, Bannu police raided the residence of PTM activist Hanif Pashteen early this morning, arresting his father and brutally torturing his brother, Hidayatullah.
The sheer desperation of the Paki establishment is evident—it has now resorted to abducting and brutalizing family members of those who dare to speak out. Arresting the elderly and inflicting violence on innocent civilians underscores the colonial mindset with which the Paki establishment views Pashtuns—an indigenous people who have suffered decades of Army oppression, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.
This is not law enforcement; this is terrorism by the occupying state against its own citizens. The PTM, which has been at the forefront of demanding justice for thousands of disappeared Pashtuns, has long been subjected to harassment by the Punjabi Pak Army-government. With its calls for accountability over enforced disappearances and military excesses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTM has become a prime target of the establishment.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) launched a deadly attack on a convoy associated with the controversial Saindak mining project, killing at least seven Pak military personnel and injuring eleven others in Kalat’s Mangchar area on Tuesday.
The attack, which took place in the evening near Mangchar Bazaar, directly targeted the military escort protecting the convoy of thirty vehicles linked to a Chinese company operating in Pak-occupied-Balochistan. According to the BLA, the operation was carried out in a well-coordinated manner, beginning with a remote-controlled IED that completely destroyed a military vehicle. This was followed by a barrage of heavy weaponry, inflicting severe casualties on Pak forces.
The second phase of the attack saw BLA sarmachars targeting vehicles in the Saindak Project convoy with grenade launchers and heavy arms, leading to the disabling of eleven vehicles. A driver was briefly detained but later released unharmed, as he was a Baloch.
The BLA, in its statement, reiterated its firm stance against the “exploitative projects” imposed on POB by the occupying Pak Army and foreign entities. It warned that companies involved in the plunder of POB’s rich natural resources would face severe consequences if they did not immediately cease operations and leave the region. The group specifically named Saindak, Reko Diq, and other mineral extraction ventures as illegitimate projects imposed without the consent of the Baloch people.
Deadly BLA Ambush
This latest attack underscores the deep-rooted resentment and resistance of Baloch nationalists against Pakistan’s brutal colonial policies in POB. For decades, Islamabad has treated the resource-rich province as an economic colony, extracting its wealth while subjecting its people to military atrocities, enforced disappearances, and systematic repression. The heavy presence of the Pak military, acting as a security force for foreign investors rather than protectors of the local population, has only fueled greater hostility.
Baloch pro-independence groups have consistently warned foreign investors and their local collaborators to refrain from entering into any economic or trade agreements with the Paki establishment, which are an occupying force. Tuesday’s attack sends a clear message—those who aid in the exploitation of POB’s resources will be treated as enemies of the Baloch people.
The Paki establishment’s reliance on brute force to suppress the Baloch freedom movement has done little to quell the resistance. If anything, such attacks demonstrate that the struggle for Balochistan’s liberation remains far from over, and as long as Pakistan continues its exploitative and oppressive policies, it will face unrelenting resistance.
Baloch sarmachars have launched a large-scale ambush against Pakistan Army in Bolan on Sunday, setting up blockades at multiple locations and engaging in intense firefights with the Pak military. The operation resulted in severe losses for the Pakistan Army, with one of its armored vehicles coming under heavy fire.
Baloch fighters intercepted PPP MPA Liaquat Lehri during the blockade, surrounded his convoy, and disarmed his security personnel. After issuing a warning, they allowed him to leave unharmed along with his guards. The incident underscores the growing influence of Baloch resistance groups, who continue to challenge Pakistan’s oppressive grip over the region.
Meanwhile, the Pak military’s media wing, ISPR, predictably attempted to downplay the losses, claiming that the ambush was an “attempted trap” against the forces and that four fighters were killed during clashes with the Frontier Corps (FC). However, independent sources have not verified these claims, and ISPR has a long history of fabricating casualty figures to mask its failures.
The attack in Bolan is yet another reminder of the Paki establishment’s failed policies in Balochistan, where its colonial-style occupation has only fueled the armed resistance. While the military continues to unleash terror through enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, the growing boldness of Baloch fighters signals that Islamabad’s control over the region is slipping.
Pakistan once again resorted to its usual hostility by abruptly shutting down the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan, halting all trade and movement since Friday night. The closure, enforced unilaterally by Pak authorities, has left thousands of people, including traders and daily-wage workers, stranded on both sides of the border, further worsening the humanitarian crisis in the region.
According to Afghan officials, tensions escalated when Afghan forces were constructing a new border post, which Pakistan objected to. Afghan Border Commissioner Abdul Jabar Hikmat confirmed that Pakistani forces demanded a halt to the construction, leading to a standoff. In response, Pakistan shut down all movements, including trade, at 10 p.m., revealing its deep-seated paranoia and its habitual reliance on border closures as a pressure tactic.
In a display of panic, Pak authorities relocated customs and immigration staff from the border terminal to Landi Kotal, fearing an escalation. Local residents from the nearby Bacha Maina area were also ordered to evacuate, further proving Pakistan’s incompetence in handling border matters diplomatically.
Tensions had been simmering since 2016, with both sides engaging in heavy exchanges of fire over border construction disputes. However, instead of working towards a peaceful resolution, Pakistan has consistently reacted with aggression, shutting down crossings and disrupting trade—actions that hurt ordinary people more than anyone else.
The abrupt closure has severely impacted traders, particularly fruit and vegetable dealers, who were forced to turn back their perishable goods. Transporters and porters were left without work, while export and import activities came to a complete standstill. Instead of facilitating trade and economic cooperation, Pakistan continues to weaponize border crossings, exposing its fragile approach to regional diplomacy.
While Afghanistan has sought engagement on border-related issues, Pakistan’s knee-jerk reactions and insecurity-driven policies continue to destabilize the region. The Torkham closure is yet another example of how Pakistan’s establishment—driven by paranoia rather than pragmatism—remains incapable of fostering good relations with its neighbors.
Pak-occupied-Balochistan remains under siege as Army-backed death squads continue their campaign of targeted assassinations and enforced disappearances, leaving families shattered and communities enraged. The lifeless body of yet another young Baloch, Karim Baloch, son of Manzoor Baloch, now lies at the center of a protest in Gomazi, as his grieving family demands justice.
Karim Baloch was brutally murdered by armed men affiliated with Pakistan’s notorious death squads, operating with impunity under the Army’s protection. His killing follows the murder of his childhood friend and relative, Mehraj Baloch, by the same Pak Army-sponsored gunmen. With the Paki establishment treating Baloch lives as disposable, his family has refused to bury him, instead choosing to resist. Their sit-in continues, a powerful rejection of the Army’s terror machinery.
Death Squads Execute Yet Another Teenager
Meanwhile, in Pasni, protests intensify at Zero Point, where the family of three forcibly disappeared brothers—Waheed Majeed, Nadeem Majeed, and Hafeez Majeed—are blocking roads, demanding their safe return. In Surab, the family of Jhanzeb Baloch, abducted on January 11 from Zehri, has taken to the streets, shutting down the CPEC highway in defiance of Pakistan Army oppression. These peaceful protestors faced yet another attack, as the Army-backed death squads stormed the sit-in, leaving two women injured.
Simultaneously, the protest with Karim Baloch’s body has entered its second day at Shaheed Fida Chowk, with women, children, and men standing their ground. Members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee and political activists have joined, further exposing the army’s systematic brutality. Initially, Karim’s family had taken his body to Jadgal Dann (D Baloch Point) and blocked the M-8 highway in outrage. By 3 AM, they had moved to Shaheed Fida Chowk, refusing to let his murder go unanswered.
Public outrage continues to mount as people recognize the familiar pattern—Baloch youth being targeted, abducted, or executed in cold blood while the Paki establishment attempts to suppress their voices. The death squads are not rogue elements; they are tools of the military establishment, tasked with eliminating the Baloch population.
The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) has once again struck the occupying Pakistan Army in Kharan, eliminating a soldier and a key intelligence operative in two separate, well-executed attacks. The targeted operations underscore the unwavering resolve of Baloch freedom fighters against the colonial military presence in Pak-occupied-Balochistan.
BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch, in a statement to the media, confirmed that on February 20 at noon, the BLF’s sniper tactical team took out a Pak personnel outside a military camp. Moments later, BLF fighters launched a secondary attack using advanced weaponry, striking the camp and leaving multiple personnel wounded. This operation was a direct response to the Pakistan military’s continued atrocities and occupation of POB.
Earlier in the morning, at around 11 a.m., BLF fighters executed a targeted assassination in Kharan’s main bazaar, eliminating Raxul Bakhsh Babar, an operative of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies. For months, BLF’s intelligence wing had been tracking the agent, who was disguised as a cap seller to carry out surveillance and espionage for the Paki establishment. His elimination is a strong message to those collaborating with the enemy against the Baloch nation.
BLF’s Targeted Attacks
Earlier, BLF freedom fighters launched an attack on February 19 at 7:30 p.m., striking a Pak military checkpoint at Mundi in Gwadar. The attack, carried out with automatic and heavy weapons, hit soldiers standing at the checkpoint for inspections, leaving at least two personnel injured. The assault was a direct message to Pakistan’s colonial forces that their oppressive presence in POB will not go unchallenged.
On the same evening, BLF fighters launched another attack in Turbat’s Absar area, where they targeted a Pakistan Army post in Maulad Rek using multiple grenade launcher rounds. The grenades directly hit their mark, injuring two more occupying soldiers. These operations underscore the BLF’s growing capability to strike Pakistan Army’s positions at will, despite the military’s increasing reliance on terror tactics to suppress the Baloch people.
Major Gwahram Baloch reaffirmed the BLF’s commitment to the Baloch national struggle, making it clear that attacks against the occupying Pak military and its infrastructure will continue. The statement reflects the unwavering spirit of the Baloch resistance against an occupying force that has for decades relied on enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and military crackdowns to silence Baloch voices.
Bannu has become the epicenter of yet another wave of resistance against Punjabi Pakistan Army’s brutal suppression of Pashtun voices. A massive protest is underway as thousands have taken to the streets, demanding the immediate release of Samad Lala, who has been arbitrarily detained by the Punjabi military establishment. The protesters, refusing to be silenced, have announced an indefinite sit-in outside Bannu Central Jail until their demands are met.
The growing unrest is not just about one man—it is about the systematic persecution of the Pashtun people. The recent arrest of Malik Naseer is yet another example of the Army’s ruthless policy to crush any Pashtun who dares to speak up. The Paki establishment, notorious for enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, continues to treat the Pashtun people as enemies within their own land.
Whenever a Pashtun demands his rights, he is either imprisoned or disappears without a trace. The question resonates across the Pashtun belt: Is being a Pashtun a crime? Is raising one’s voice for dignity and justice an act of terrorism? The Paki establishment, which harbors terrorists and sponsors extremist groups, has no answer—except to unleash its security apparatus against its ethnic communities.
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