Source: Arab NewsIn recent years, Balochistan’s political movements have undergone drastic changes. Balochistan is a province that has always had grievances against the governmental apparatus and sometimes becomes violent just by participating in violent means of protest. However, the recent protest, that started in December 2023 from Turbat and reached Islamabad, has shown a deviation from traditional protesting practices and so, became an entirely different ballgame. This is because the participants of the protest have shown their support for democracy by exercising the right of free speech to make complaints in a reasonable and nonviolent manner.
The Balochistan Yakjehti Movement (BYM) represents a new development in the socio-political war of provincial politics. The movement has attracted attention recently because of its use of democratic and nonviolent protest methods. The Baloch socio-political dynamics undergoing change point towards a step in the direction of democracy, and greater trust being placed in governmental institutions.
Women activists like Mahrang Baloch have been at the forefront of the BYM, demanding respect for human rights. Sometimes they question fatalities or disappearances not followed up with official legal procedures, as well as other unlawful acts. This campaign is to highlight human rights violations taking place in the province. In terms of the legal setting, movements for accountability and justice, such as this, must be addressed by the central government consciously and humanely.
This peaceful whereby people walking along a route from the District of Kech to Islamabad sends out an important message about how much determination they have put into their struggle for what is justly theirs. Besides this, it is important to note that the incident that led to the mass mobilization of the people across the province was the killing of Balach Baloch in Tehsil Turbat. While the protestors claim that Balach’s murder at the hands of CTD was unjustified, the official narrative states that the assassination was the result of an ambush by the militants during the prisoner’s transfer process. Nevertheless, the event shocked the community, and protests in Turbat began to spread, followed by a long march on protestors’ feet to the capital. Apart from this, the aspect of women in the vanguard is certainly a breakthrough for international support, shaking down from discourse on Balochistan’s conservative and tribal social structure.
The decision by the Baloch protestors to move towards Islamabad, 1000 miles away from their homeland is an important step towards a changing socio-political culture in Balochistan. They have used the democratic means of protest rather than violent ways of protest. The steps from the BYM protestors show their tilt towards the state and trust in terms of pursuing their objectives within the confines permitted by Pakistani law. The method also conforms with the world democratic standards and principles of international humanitarian law and sets a precedent for future non-violent channels for people to let their voices be heard, as well as a way of settling disputes.
It is important how did the Pakistani government react to these protests. The first response was to arrest and use force. Afterward, the release of protesters who had been held responsible for their peaceful participation under court orders and public pressure appeared as an important step toward the recognition that things like freedom of speech do exist in the country. Such intervention by the civil institutions serves as a model for the proper handling of dissenting voices, and perhaps, particularly from areas like Balochistan that have long felt excluded or ignored. Also, this could set a precedent among other members of the Baloch community to choose peaceful and democratic means for protesting.
To some, the protest was to redress certain grievances; to others, it represented a judgment on what kind of Pakistan we have today. In choosing a peaceful demonstration, the Baloch people have now given the government of Pakistan in Islamabad a chance to demonstrate its commitment to democratic principles and the rule of law. How the government reacts to these protests and the subsequent response it receives is relative to addressing their underlying causes, which will have important long-term consequences not only for relations between Pakistan and Balochistan but also for the stability of the region.
This situation provides the government with a chance to open innovative dialogue about the Baloch problems. In exchange, it needs a new way to deal with regional dissent and disenchantment. These were steps towards creating a foundation from where the ethnic differences could be resolved and the democratic base of the country could be strengthened. What is happening in Balochistan is of great importance not only to Islamabad but also to the region. In short, these decisions that Islamabad takes vis-à-vis this protest will have consequences that will affect the course of democracy in the country for a long time to come.
