Balochistan

Dr Mahrang Baloch speaking to a rally

When the young activist Dr Mahrang Baloch returned to her native Balochistan from Islamabad, tens of thousands defied a government ban on public assemblies to give her a hero’s welcome, report Matt Broomfield and Robin Fleming.

For years, the Pakistani state has resorted to violent repression and indiscriminate warfare in the south-western province of Balochistan. Faisal Baloch reports human rights abuses are rampant and soldiers act with impunity.

Balochistan, in Pakistan’s south-west, is the site of an intense struggle for self-determination that has been met with violent repression from the Pakistani state. Baloch Students Organisation-Azad (BSO-A), which organises for Baloch self-determination, released the statement below calling for justice for Baloch activist Zahid Baloch, who was abducted in 2014.

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