Balochistan: Sammi and Dr. Shalee Baloch Speak Up Against State Oppression
SHAAL (QUETTA): In a powerful rebuke of Pakistan’s ongoing suppression of political dissent in Balochistan, prominent Baloch voices Dr. Shalee Baloch of the Baloch Women Forum (BWF) and Sammi Deen Baloch, a leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), have condemned the state’s intensified crackdown on peaceful activism, especially targeting Baloch women and students.
Speaking at a press conference in Turbat, Dr. Shalee Baloch criticised state institutions for attempting to sabotage a peaceful, one-day conference that was scheduled for July 27 at the Gwadar Press Club.
The event was meant to foster democratic dialogue on Baloch political participation, enforced disappearances, and state repression. According to Baloch Women Forum leaders, awareness campaigns and public engagement efforts were already underway when state forces began obstructing the initiative.
Dr. Shalee revealed that female forum members were detained without legal basis, held at the Gwadar Women’s Police Station, and subjected to humiliating and inhumane treatment. She further disclosed that the detainees were pressured to cancel the event in writing, and upon refusing, were forcibly transferred to Turbat—a move labelled by the forum as a severe violation of civil liberties.
She emphasised that whenever Baloch women speak out with political consciousness for their rights, they are met with covert forces and invisible laws aimed at silencing them. “The state’s actions once again show that democracy in Balochistan is reserved only for the powerful,” she said.
Dr. Shalee also noted that organisations like the Baloch Yakjehti Committee and National Democratic Party are facing widespread arrests and suppression, with activists being detained without warrants and political activities criminalised under the guise of national security.
Meanwhile, Sammi Deen Baloch drew attention to the mainstream media’s silence on the peaceful sit-in by Baloch mothers and sisters, who have been protesting for over ten days to demand justice for their disappeared loved ones.
She condemned social media influencers and self-proclaimed journalists who, instead of covering the protest with sensitivity, are filming protesters without consent for personal gain—harassing and violating the privacy of vulnerable women and students.
“This behaviour is not just unethical, it’s a form of profiling, surveillance, and state propaganda,” Sammi said. “These individuals expose their own agendas in their attempt to expose us.”
She stressed that recording demonstrators without permission is a clear breach of privacy and safety, and goes against journalistic ethics, which require respect, empathy, and confidentiality when covering vulnerable communities.
Sammi accused such influencers—whether TikTokers, YouTubers, or digital media groups—of amplifying state narratives and mocking the pain of oppressed families, calling it an inhumane and calculated act.
“These so-called influencers are tools of propaganda. It’s no secret where their orders come from, and no informed citizen will accept their distortion of truth,” she concluded.
Both leaders vowed to continue their constitutional and democratic struggle for Baloch rights, pledging that neither intimidation nor propaganda will silence them.
They called on international human rights organisations, global media, and the conscience of the world to take notice of the repression unfolding in Balochistan and stand in solidarity with the oppressed.
