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.

Yet another distressing incident of enforced disappearance occurred in Gwadar, Pak-occupied Balochistan where a young student named Mohsin Baloch, has been forcibly disappeared from Gwadar by the Pak Army on 2 February 2024.

The victim Mohsin Baloch, is an internally displaced person (IDP) who had to flee his hometown, Dasht Kombel, after continuous military operations that led to disappearances, killings, and the burning of his other family members’ houses.

This is another despicable act in less than a week of abduction of a Baloch student named Mehboob Baloch, who was a fifth-semester student at Lasbela University of Agriculture, was en route to his hometown Turbat, Kech for a vacation when he was abducted by the Pak Army from a passenger bus in the Gwadar district of Pak-occupied. This incident ignited the Baloch students to protest and block the Makkoran Coastal Highway road.

Additionally, ten cases of forced disappearances from Dera Bugti were reported in the last week of January itself. The victims are identified as Master Ghaus Bakhsh, GTA District President, Jamhoori Watan Party activist, Rahim Dad, Swali Bugti, Atifullah and three unidentified youths from Shahzain Pump area of Sui are reported missing

Reportedly in Paank annual report of 2023, a total of 576 cases of enforced disappearance were recorded in 2023 alone. The Pak Army has caused a heinous violation of the human rights of the Baloch community since their forceful control of Balochistan on March 27, 1948. Since then, the Baloch people have faced frequent home invasions, torture, enforced disappearances, kidnappings for ransom and target killings.

Recently, Michael Martin, Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed grave concerns in written form raised by Paul Murphy, Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-West constituency, regarding Pakistan Army’s war crimes in Pak-occupied Balochistan.

During a Human Rights debate on January 30, 2024, in the lower house, Dáil Éireann, Deputy Paul Murphy brought up the urgent matter of ongoing war crimes in Pak-occupied Balochistan in a written inquiry. He mentioned in particular the enforced disappearances since 2000 of thousands of Baloch activists, including academics, physicians, lawyers, and students. Murphy’s investigation aimed to ascertain whether Ireland would oppose Pakistan’s conduct and explore options like applying sanctions to stop these violations.

Minister Martin responded by recognizing the intricate instability in Balochistan. Speaking of recent bilateral talks in Islamabad, he underlined Ireland’s continued engagement with Pakistan, saying, “Our discussions with the Pakistan establishment have been thorough, covering a wide range of political and human rights issues.”

The Minister explained Ireland’s stance on sanctions, emphasizing that although it does not apply sanctions on its own, it actively carries out UN and EU sanctions as part of an integrated policy strategy. He pledged to keep working to bring up human rights issues with Pakistan in multilateral and bilateral fora. The Minister also voiced concern about the recent escalation of regional hostilities, which could further destabilize the area and include airstrikes in Balochistan by Pakistan and Iran.

Furthermore, the minister also highlighted how Ireland’s foreign policy is based on a broader commitment to human rights. He described Ireland’s positive participation in the UN Human Rights Council, wherein it pushed Pakistan to amend its laws on blasphemy and institute an independent inquiry into enforced disappearances. The recommendations put forth are intended to tackle discrimination and guarantee responsibility for human rights violations.

The Minister also stated that, while an Irish embassy is being opened in Islamabad later this year, the Irish embassy in Türkiye, which is accredited to Pakistan, is monitoring the situation in Pakistan closely in close consultation with the EU Delegation.

The people of Pak-occupied Balochistan are battling 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.