IT WAS only natural that widespread protests would explode in Pakistan following the arrest of Ms. Mahrang Baloch, the undisputed leader of the Baloch struggle for independence. The Pakistani authorities arrested Ms. Mahrang Baloch a couple of days ago charging her with involvement in terrorist activities when what she had actually done was to lead a sit-in protest against illegal arrests of countless Baloch people over years. The modus operandi of the arrests is strange -- the Pakistani authorities pick up Baloch people and then many of those persons just disappear. The Baloch freedom fighters have been asking for their whereabouts and the authorities have nothing to say in response. Ms. Mahrang Baloch, known for her fire-brand leadership, has been at the forefront of the freedom struggle for years and has inspired lakhs of Baloch people to join the struggle. So signal has been her contribution that her name is believed to have been recommended for Nobel Peace Prize.

 

The arrest of Ms. Mahrang Baloch, therefore, has evoked an angry response from the Baloch people who have exploded into widespread protests in the Karachi region of Pakistan (where the population is dominated by Sindhi majority with fair sprinkling of the people of Baloch origin). The protesters have been insisting upon an immediate release of Ms. Mahrang Baloch and also the whereabouts of thousands of people who have just disappeared from the scene in the past few years. The protesters want to know about their kin that vanished into thin air -- whether they are alive or not. The strong and widespread apprehension is that the Pakistani authorities have just eliminated them -- and destroyed their bodies.

 

The Baloch freedom fighters see this as a gross and deliberate violation of human rights by the Pakistani authorities whose attempts to crush the struggle have met with big failure so far. With the arrest of Ms. Mahrang Baloch, enough indications have surfaced to suggest that the Baloch freedom movement would get intensified all the more. The last few months have seen an altogether different dynamics among various groups of Baloch freedom fighters. Various such groups have now formed a joint front and have initiated action against Pakistani State in whatever manner possible. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is considered the strongest among all these groups -- particularly with the presence within its ranks what is described as Majid Brigade, which is intensely hostile towards the Pakistan State. In the past few weeks, following the hijack of the Zafar Express and then a brutal attack on an Army convoy, thousands of Pakistani Army soldiers and officers are rumoured to have resigned from the Army fearing a terrible armed action by the BLA and its allied groups.

 

Those who understand the Baloch dynamics and Pakistani vulnerability feel strongly that the Pakistani State is fighting a losing battle and the freedom of Balochistan from Pakistani occupation is only a matter of time. Ms. Mahrang Baloch is a woman with a small frame, so to say. But the fire in her leadership is remarkable. Her personality has the capacity to influence others and inspire them to start working for Baloch freedom. Many international watchers of the Pakistan scene have begun asserting that Ms. Mahrang Baloch is one person whom the Pakistani authorities are afraid of. All signs emanating from Pakistan point to this reality. An interesting angle to the situation is that of late the Baloch demand is gaining currency that India help the Baloch freedom fighters. It is obvious that no country can actually do anything in such situations. But it is a fact that the Baloch struggle is gaining an increasing acceptance in the world.