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First Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Is Pakistan's ISI using ISIS to threaten Balochistan activists?
While Pakistan tries to whitewash its image, the latest manifesto of ISIS-K targets Baloch rights activists, including Mahrang Baloch. The terror group was also seen parroting the same narrative pushed by Pakistan's ISI. Read our exclusive read more Portraits of Baloch missing persons are seen by their family members at a sit-in protest camp, in Islamabad, Pakistan Monday, Dec. 25, 2023. File Image / AP While Pakistan denies claims that it is fostering terror groups on its soil , the Baloch civilians and activists in the country are facing threats from the Islamic State (ISIS) terror cells. In recent weeks, the transnational terrorist organisation announced war on the Baloch militant groups, like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front. However, a prominent Baloch rights activist, who asked to remain anonymous, told Firstpost that the terror group is also targeting Baloch civilians and political protesters. The activist from the Baloch Yakjehti Committee told Firstpost that ISIS has been allegedly linking the missing Baloch civilians and their families to militant groups like BLA and BLF. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The source noted that the group issued a 117-page booklet, claiming that the activists are against 'the rules of Islam'. The front page of the booklet featured Manzoor Pashteen, leader of Pashteen Tahafuz movement, Bashir Zeb, leader of Baloch liberation army and a faceless woman. The cover image of the ISIS booklet features Manzoor Pashteen, leader of Pashteen Tahafuz movement, Bashir Zeb, leader of Baloch liberation army and a faceless female. Image Source: BYC The picture is believed to be depicting prominent Baloch activist Dr Mahrang Baloch. Just last year, TIME Magazine included the Baloch human rights activist on the TIME100 Next list for her efforts to raise the Baloch plight. While her activism was celebrated around the world, on March 22, Dr Mahrang Baloch was arrested by the Pakistani authorities during a peaceful sit-in where she was demonstrating against police violence on protesters from the previous day. In the photographs of the booklet shared by the source to Firstpost, Dr Baloch's name was explicitly mentioned. In the provocative manifesto, Dr Mahrang was referred to as 'Kafir, a Muslim who has left Islam and became non Muslim,' the source said. In the booklet, Dr Mahrang Baloch's name was explicity mentioned, she was referred to as 'Kafir, a Muslim who have left Islam and became non Muslim. Image Source: FP Sources How is ISI involved in all this? The game of narratives While speaking on the matter, the Baloch activist told Firstpost that ISIS has been promoting the same narrative often pushed by Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence, also known as ISI. 'It [the manifesto] totally shows this is promoting the narrative of ISI and going to target Baloch activists,' the source told Firstpost. The source explained that both ISIS and ISI paint Baloch rights activists as 'soft faces of militants'. When asked why Pakistan's ISI would use ISIS to terrorise Baloch civilians, the Baloch activists gave a simple response: Growing public awareness about atrocities against Baloch civilians. 'The ISI has long sought to continue human rights violations and exploit the region's resources without accountability. However, our peaceful movement has exposed their actions to the world, which is why they are now targeting us in an attempt to silence our voices. Despite their efforts, they have failed,' the source told Firstpost. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Currently, Dr. Mahrang Baloch and four of our leaders — Beebarg Baloch, Beebu Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch, and Shaji Baloch — are unjustly imprisoned. My own father forcibly disappeared as part of a pressure tactic to force my surrender. The state continues to brutally suppress every protest, yet we have not stopped resisting.' Mahrang Baloch has been nominated for the 2025 Nobel Prize. Image: mahrangbaloch__/Instagram Now, as public awareness grows and the people's resentment against state oppression deepens, they (ISI) are shifting strategies. Since open violence is increasingly being condemned both locally and internationally, they may resort to using groups like ISIS to further suppress us. This allows them to deflect criticism, evade responsibility, and even gain international sympathy because any violence blamed on a banned terrorist group distances the state from accountability," the source furthered. Against the backdrop of the alleged threat coming from the ISI-ISIS combo, the BYC had to cancel its rallies in different regions across Balochistan. When asked if there are just threats or the lives of Dr Mahrang Baloch and other rights activists are actually in danger, the source stated: 'This is a threat to all political activists like us, and victim families, who came on the roads just for justice.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD How Baloch civilians are facing the burnt of terror groups During a phone call with Firstpost, the source explained how the tensions between ISIS-K (Islamic State - Khorasan Province) and Daesh actually started. The Pakistani wing of the transnational terror group claimed that militant organisations like BLA and BLF killed 30 people. The source noted that Daesh and the Baloch militant groups have camps in Mastung town in the Balochistan province. The Baloch activist also pointed out that neither the BLA nor the BLF have claimed responsibility for killing Daesh members as of now. Militants from the Baloch Liberation Army in Quetta. File image/AFP However, in the tussle between the two groups, it is the Baloch civilians and activists who are getting dragged into all this. For instance, on March 29, a suicide bomber detonated himself near the rally conducted by Sardar Akhtar Mengal and other leaders of his faction of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) in Mastung. According to Pakistani news outlet The Express Tribune, the rally was en route from Wadh to Quetta when the attack occurred. No casualties were reported in the blast. The demonstration was organised to protest the arrests of Balochistan Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch and other leaders. The source claimed that the attack was carried out by the Daesh terror group operating in the Khorasan province. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The atrocities by the ISI and the state of Pakistan Not only this, but the Baloch activists and innocent civilians are also facing atrocities at the hands of the Pakistani establishment. 'The ISI has employed a wide range of tactics to target Baloch activists, aiming to silence dissent and suppress the movement. These methods include: Fabricating allegations and spreading false propaganda, intimidation and harassment of activists and their families, misusing anti-terrorism laws and sedition charges to criminalise peaceful activism, etc,' the source told to Firstpost. 'These actions collectively aim to dismantle the peaceful Baloch movement through fear, legal persecution, and economic strangulation,' the source furthered. Baloch activists hold pictures of their missing family members in Islamabad, Pakistan, 2023. File Image: AP The ISIS booklet peddles the same narrative against Baloch activists as formulated earlier by the ISI. This also offers evidence backing the charge that the Pakistani establishment and its security agencies have terror links. This may compound troubles for Pakistan when it's already under global scrutiny for sponsoring terrorism in India, especially in the aftermath of the Pahalgam massacre of tourists.
Hindustan Times
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
In Pics: Blake Lively stuns in pink at Time100 Gala with Ryan Reynolds amid Justin Baldoni legal drama
In Pics: Blake Lively stuns in pink at Time100 Gala with Ryan Reynolds amid Justin Baldoni legal drama Blake Lively walked the Time100 Gala red carpet in chic blush pink gown, alongside her husband, Ryan Reynolds. ...read more 1 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout US actress Blake Lively (L) and husband Canadian-US actor Ryan Reynolds attend the 2025 TIME100 gala at The Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, April 24, 2025. TIME�s annual TIME100 Next list recognizes 100 individuals who are defining the next generation of leadership � Artists, Phenoms, Leaders, Advocates and Innovators � poised to make the climb and in doing so, make history. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)(AFP) 2 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout US actress Blake Lively attends the 2025 TIME100 gala at The Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, April 24, 2025. TIME�s annual TIME100 Next list recognizes 100 individuals who are defining the next generation of leadership � Artists, Phenoms, Leaders, Advocates and Innovators � poised to make the climb and in doing so, make history. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)(AFP) 3 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 24: Blake Lively attends the 2025 Time100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 24, 2025 in New York City./AFP (Photo by Cindy Ord / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)(Getty Images via AFP) 4 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout US actress Blake Lively attends the 2025 TIME100 gala at The Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, April 24, 2025. TIME�s annual TIME100 Next list recognizes 100 individuals who are defining the next generation of leadership � Artists, Phenoms, Leaders, Advocates and Innovators � poised to make the climb and in doing so, make history. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)(AFP) 5 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout US actress Blake Lively (L) and husband Canadian-US actor Ryan Reynolds attend the 2025 TIME100 gala at The Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, April 24, 2025. TIME�s annual TIME100 Next list recognizes 100 individuals who are defining the next generation of leadership � Artists, Phenoms, Leaders, Advocates and Innovators � poised to make the climb and in doing so, make history. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)(AFP) 6 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout US actress Blake Lively attends the 2025 TIME100 gala at The Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, April 24, 2025. TIME�s annual TIME100 Next list recognizes 100 individuals who are defining the next generation of leadership � Artists, Phenoms, Leaders, Advocates and Innovators � poised to make the climb and in doing so, make history. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)(AFP) 7 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout Blake Lively, left, and Ryan Reynolds attend the Time100 Gala, celebrating the 100 most influential people in the world, at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on Thursday, April 24, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 8 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds attend the TIME100 gala, celebrating the magazine's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, in New York City, U.S., April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper(REUTERS) 9 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout Blake Lively attends the Time100 Gala, celebrating the 100 most influential people in the world, at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on Thursday, April 24, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 10 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout Blake Lively and Elaine Lively attend the TIME100 gala, celebrating the magazine's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, in New York City, U.S., April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper(REUTERS) 11 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Elaine Lively attend the TIME100 gala, celebrating the magazine's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, in New York City, U.S., April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper(REUTERS) 12 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout Blake Lively, left, and Ryan Reynolds attend the Time100 Gala, celebrating the 100 most influential people in the world, at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on Thursday, April 24, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 13 / 13 View Photos in a new improved layout Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds attend the TIME100 gala, celebrating the magazine's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, in New York City, U.S., April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper(REUTERS)
Arab News
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan party ends weeks-long protest over arrest of Baloch rights activists
ISLAMABAD: The Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) on Wednesday called off a weeks-long sit-in in southwest Pakistan against the arrest last month of Baloch ethnic rights activists, the chief of the party said in a press conference. BNP chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal and his supporters have been leading a protest since Mar. 28, days after Dr. Mahrang Baloch, the most prominent rights activist from Balochistan, and others were arrested after they took part in a protest outside the University of Balochistan in the provincial capital of Quetta. Baloch and other activists had been demanding the release of other members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee rights group, whom they allege have been detained by security agencies. That demonstration ended in the death of three protesters, according to police documents, and Baloch and others were charged with terrorism, sedition, and murder. The Pakistan army and government have in the past variously referred to Baloch and her BYC as 'terrorist proxies' who are allied with militant separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The group denies the charge and says it leads peaceful protests for the rights of the Baloch. 'Keeping in mind everything, giving importance to the difficulties of the people, the Balochistan National Party has decided that if the government does not allow us to go to Quetta, we will continue our protest, if not this way, then any other way we deem fit,' Mengal Said at a press conference in Mastung where his party had been holding the sit-in. He did not elaborate on a future course of action. The crackdown on BYC leaders followed a deadly train attack in Balochistan last month, in which BLA separatist militants took hundreds of passengers hostage. The army said 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers had died in the attack and rescue mission, which lasted over a day. Last year, Baloch was barred from traveling to the United States to attend a TIME magazine awards gala after being named on the 2024 TIME100 Next list of 'rising leaders.' She began her activist career at the age of 16 in 2009 when her father went missing in an alleged 'enforced disappearance.' His body was found two years later. Her BYC says it campaigns against such extrajudicial killings, abductions and other rights abuses against the ethnic Baloch people. The state denies official complicity. Protests and advocacy among the Baloch are often led by women, who say their male counterparts have suffered the worst in a decades-long state crackdown. Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where militants target state forces and foreign nationals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
Gulf Today
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Pakistan detains leading female Baloch rights activist: Police
Pakistan detained a leading female Baloch rights activist on Saturday for holding a sit-in in southwestern Balochistan at which three protesters were also killed, police said. Mahrang Baloch, one of Pakistan's most prominent human rights advocates, has long campaigned for the Baloch ethnic group from the southwestern province of Balochistan, which alleges being subjected to extrajudicial harassment, arrests and killings by Islamabad. The Pakistan government says its forces are fighting separatist militants who target state forces and foreign nationals in the mineral-rich province that borders Afghanistan and Iran. "She, along with 17 other protesters, including 10 men and seven women, has been arrested," a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak to the media. "It is currently being assessed what charges should be filed against them," he added. The protesters had been holding a sit-in on Friday outside the University of Balochistan, demanding the release of members of their support group, whom they allege had been detained by security agencies. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee, a support group led by Baloch, said she was arrested along with other protesters in a "brutal pre-dawn crackdown by state security forces." The confrontation left at least three protestors dead a provincial government spokesman said, with both sides blaming each other. 'Cease to use force' It comes after the province saw a dramatic train siege this month that officials said resulted in around 60 deaths, half of whom were separatists behind the assault. The assault was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of several separatist groups that accuse outsiders of plundering the province's natural resources. "The authorities must immediately cease to use force against peaceful protestors and release those arbitrarily detained," demanded the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in a statement. "The use of disproportionate and unlawful kinetic means by the state must cease immediately to pave the way for a purposeful political solution," it added. Mahrang Baloch was barred from travelling to the United States last year to attend a TIME magazine awards gala after being named on the 2024 TIME100 Next list of "rising leaders." She began her activist career at the age of 16 in 2009 when her father went missing in an alleged "enforced disappearance". His body was found two years later. Protests and advocacy among the Baloch are generally led by women, who say their male counterparts have suffered the worst in a decades-long state crackdown. Agence France-Presse
Al Arabiya
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Pakistan detains leading Baloch rights activist: Police
Pakistan detained a leading female Baloch rights activist on Saturday for holding a sit-in in southwestern Balochistan at which three protesters were also killed, police said. Mahrang Baloch, one of Pakistan's most prominent human rights advocates, has long campaigned for the Baloch ethnic group from the southwestern province of Balochistan, which alleges being subjected to extrajudicial harassment, arrests and killings by Islamabad. The Pakistan government says its forces are fighting separatist militants who target state forces and foreign nationals in the mineral-rich province that borders Afghanistan and Iran. 'She, along with 17 other protesters, including 10 men and seven women, has been arrested,' a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak to the media. 'It is currently being assessed what charges should be filed against them,' he added. The protesters had been holding a sit-in on Friday outside the University of Balochistan, demanding the release of members of their support group, whom they allege had been detained by security agencies. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee, a support group led by Baloch, said she was arrested along with other protesters in a 'brutal pre-dawn crackdown by state security forces.' The confrontation left at least three protestors dead a provincial government spokesman said, with both sides blaming each other. 'Cease to use force' It comes after the province saw a dramatic train siege this month that officials said resulted in around 60 deaths, half of whom were separatists behind the assault. The assault was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of several separatist groups that accuse outsiders of plundering the province's natural resources. 'The authorities must immediately cease to use force against peaceful protestors and release those arbitrarily detained,' demanded the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in a statement. 'The use of disproportionate and unlawful kinetic means by the state must cease immediately to pave the way for a purposeful political solution,' it added. Baloch was barred from traveling to the United States last year to attend a TIME magazine awards gala after being named on the 2024 TIME100 Next list of 'rising leaders.' She began her activist career at the age of 16 in 2009 when her father went missing in an alleged 'enforced disappearance.' His body was found two years later. Protests and advocacy among the Baloch are generally led by women, who say their male counterparts have suffered the worst in a decades-long state crackdown.
