In any democratic country, the election process serves as the bedrock of political legitimacy and citizen representation. The sanctity of elections encompasses various elements, including transparency, fairness, accountability, and adherence to established electoral laws and procedures.

The election commission is responsible for conducting elections in every nation. However, in Pakistan, the Pak Army conducts elections in a rigged manner. The recent general election in Pakistan starkly paints a picture of the grim reality of the state.

The election days began with two major explosions disrupting a polling station in the Kech district of Pak-occupied Balochistan just minutes after the voting process, which led to an immediate suspension of polling activities there. Numerous bombings occurred in coastal areas like Gwadar, raising security concerns. Voting was delayed or cancelled in many places as a result of attacks on poll workers and polling places in Kharan, Kech, Zamuran, and Panjgur.

Public Rejection

A significant portion of the populace expressed their strong opposition to the election process by staging boycotts and protests. Women gathered at a polling place in the Kech district of Heronk and denounced voting as being similar to terrorism.  

Baloch women and children surrounded the Pak Army vehicles in Goburd, Mand, and chanted “Yeh Wardi Wale, Deshatgard.” Amidst these tensions, the local election process was suspended.

The outburst of protest reverberated in several other districts, such as Kech, Gwadar, and Kharan, where local protesters disrupted the election process and engaged in conflict with the “death squad” contesting elections.

Polling places remained empty in places like Tehsil Mand in the Kech district and Tehsil Hoshab, with neither voters nor poll workers present, reflecting widespread calls for boycotting the elections advocated by various nationalist groups. Reportedly, extremely low voter turnout was seen in Baloch majority areas of Balochistan.

Communication Blackout and Security Measures

Internet services were cut in key districts of Pak-occupied Balochistan such as Quetta, Gwadar, and Kharan which hampered communication and cast doubt on electoral transparency. Before the election, over 125 incidents targeting campaigns occurred with BRAS claiming responsibility for 112 attacks.

The challenges of holding elections in the face of political turmoil and security concerns are highlighted by these protests, violent attacks, and a resounding rejection of the electoral process in regions with a Baloch majority. The incidents show a significant gap between Baloch community sentiment and the Pak establishment’s electoral objectives.

Since the Pak Army forcibly occupied their region on March 27, 1948, the people of Pak-occupied Balochistan have been fighting against the atrocities and Baloch genocide committed by the Pak Army. These atrocities include but are not limited to daily home raids, disappearances, staged encounters, target killings, torture, humiliation at checkpoints, and kidnappings for ransom.

The disturbing turn of incidents in Pak-occupied Balochistan has once again shed light on the pervasive human rights abuse by the Pak Army. The Pak Army has forcibly disappeared four individuals from the Awaran and Mastung districts of Pak-occupied Balochistan, among them is a father and his son, adding to the series of daily reported cases of enforced disappearance.

Reportedly, the Pak Army has forcibly detained a man identified as Majeed and his son Ajeem from the Jhal Chedgi area of the district and then subsequently moved them to an undisclosed location. In a similar incident, the Pak Army had wrongfully arrested Salam Qambarani from Peerandar Awaran and moved him to an undisclosed location.

Also, in the Mastung district of Pak-occupied Balochistan, the Pak Army detained a youth on February 2^nd, 2024 and then forcibly disappeared him. The victim is identified as Mohammad Alizai.

It is important to note that these cases of enforced disappearance are not uncommon in Pak-occupied Balochistan. it occurs daily. Notably, six cases of enforced disappearances were recorded on Wednesday alone from different parts of the region. Families of Baloch missing persons, on the other hand, have been protesting nonstop for their loved ones’ safe return. A sit-in has been going on for the last eight days on the D-Baloch Highway close to Turbat in hopes of securing the safe return of the individuals who disappeared from the district of Kech.

Since the Pak Army forcibly occupied Balochistan on March 27, 1948, the people of Pak-occupied Balochistan have been fighting against the atrocities and Baloch genocide committed by the Pak Army. These atrocities are not just limited to daily home raids, disappearances, staged encounters, target killings, torture, humiliation at checkpoints, and kidnappings for ransom.

Recently, Baloch Raji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS) has launched a series of coordinated attacks targeting the Pakistan Army and election campaign offices in areas like Gwadar, Buleda, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Hub, Kharan, and Nushki. These incidents, involving remote-controlled IEDs, grenade launchers, and automatic weapons, mark a significant escalation in armed activities.

The Baloch Raji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS), an alliance of various Baloch pro-independence groups, has claimed responsibility for 15 of these attacks. Baloch Khan, BRAS’s spokesperson, asserted that the attacks aimed at the occupying Pak Army and those involved in the mock electoral process caused numerous casualties among Army personnel and equipment/infrastructure damages.

These attacks are targeted towards the 2024 general elections to be held in Pakistan. Pak-occupied- Balochistan under the brutal Pak Army is facing atrocities daily. They are committing Baloch genocide through kill and dump policy, indiscriminate shooting, extra-judicial killings and frequent enforced disappearances. Therefore, the elections to be held are nothing more than a phoney attempt to showcase to the world that a civilian govt is in power, however, in reality, the Pak Army has forcefully occupied the region – through brutality and violence.

On February 4, BRAS freedom fighters targeted a Pak Army vehicle with a remote-controlled IED in Naleent, Gwadar, allegedly causing multiple casualties. On February 2, another attack targeted an Army post in Buleda, using rockets and grenade launcher rounds.

The campaign of attacks also focused on individuals associated with the election campaign. On the night of February 2, Mir Yaqoob Qambarani’s residence, a National Party leader, was hit with hand grenades in Awaran. Subsequent attacks targeted residences of election candidates and former ministers in Panjgur, as well as election offices in Hub and Greshag, and polling stations in Kharan. An IED explosion damaged the Election Commission office in Nushki.

These actions were warnings from BRAS to those involved in the election campaign, with precautions taken to minimize civilian casualties. They have also advised the public to maintain a safe distance from election-related activities, indicating a rise in attacks as Pakistan’s general elections approach.

BRAS, the umbrella organization of armed Baloch freedom fighters , has executed 92 attacks across the region in just 8 days. The Baloch people’s struggle for independence remains fervent under the oppressive regime of the Pakistan Army. Since the Pak Army forcibly occupied their region on March 27, 1948, the people of Pak-occupied Balochistan have been fighting against the atrocities and Baloch genocide committed by the Pak Army.

Recently, when the Pak Army delivered six unidentified bodies to Quetta Civil Hospital claiming it to be the Baloch freedom fighters that were killed during the Dara-e-Bolan operation that was launched by Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in Mach, Bolan were the innocent Baloch civilians who were forcibly disappeared by the Pak Army. These innocent civilians are often rounded up and killed by the Pak Army in ‘staged encounters’ and subsequently labelled as terrorists.

It has been determined that four of the six bodies belong to missing people from Baloch. According to Jan Achakzai, the caretaker minister for Information and Public Relations of Balochistan, at least 24 people have been killed by the Pak Army during the clearance operation in Bolan and its surroundings.

While the majority of the martyred belonged to the Majeed Brigade of BLA, who sacrificed their lives during the operation of Dara-e-Bolan. The unidentified bodies which the Pak Army asserted to be “terrorists” were the Baloch missing persons who were forcibly disappeared and detained last year by the Pak Army.

After much protest by the families of the Mach attack victims, the hospital administration handed over the bodies, and an emotional tribute unfolded outside the hospital, where people lined up and showered the coffins with flowers.

The bodies at Quetta Civil Hospital have been identified as Arman, son of Nihaal, and Basheer Ahmad, son of Haji Khan. In June 2023, both people were “forcibly disappeared.” Their families had taken part in the anti-Baloch genocide demonstration in Islamabad organized by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).

The other two bodies were identified as Shakeel Ahmad, son of Muhammad Ramzan, a resident of Zehri, who was forcibly disappeared in June 2023, and Subaidar, son of Gulzar Khan, who was wrongfully detained from Harnai in September 2023.

Initially, the hospital’s management declined to give the deceased individuals bodies to their families. However, following protests by the families and the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, the administration relented.

The BYC declared that it possesses information on four deceased people who are believed to be missing Baloch individuals. The families were coerced into signing a document identifying their departed loved ones as Baloch insurgents. They declined to sign and asked who was demanding the form; the administration merely said, “people from above,” in response.

Leaders of the BYC convened a press conference in Quetta after the four deceased were declared missing. Speaking to the assembly, Dr. Mahrang Baloch said that the Pakistan establishment has not changed its “brutal” policies in Pak-Balochistan, thousands who took to the streets in every city in Balochistan, the Pakistan establishment has not altered its ‘brutal’ policies in Pak-Balochistan.

Four of the six bodies found in Quetta Civil Hospital have been identified as missing Baloch people, according to Dr Mahrang Baloch. It is thought that the fifth body might also be a missing person. She appealed to the international community, saying that the Pakistan “establishment” blatant refusal to alter its policies is demonstrated by the persistence of “staged encounters” in Pak-Balochistan.

Additionally, Dr. Mahrang Baloch urged Quetta residents to congregate at the Civil Hospital and participate in the demonstration against the genocide against the Baloch people.

The people of Pak-occupied Balochistan are fighting against the atrocities and Baloch genocide committed by the Pak Army of daily home raids, disappearances, staged encounters, target killings, torture, humiliation at checkpoints, and kidnappings for ransom they have been subjected to since the Pakistan Army forcefully occupied their region on March 27, 1948. It is highly crucial that the international community stands in solidarity with the Baloch people and takes decisive action to address their grievances and ensure justice and freedom for all.