Baloch Leader Sabiha Baloch Warns of 'Encounter Killing' Amid Rising Threats |
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“They can kill me in an encounter, as I have been receiving such threats for a long time,” warns Dr Sabiha Baloch, courageous and uncompromising leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), or Baloch Unity Committee, alongside another prominent figures in the organisation, Dr Mahrang Baloch.
Sabiha has received numerous threats, including a serious allegation of blasphemy, made against her in August 2024 in Nushki city in Balochistan province, Pakistan.
Sabiha said the Balochistan government and security forces were upset with her, for they have tried but failed to curb the activities of the BYC, despite portraying its work as violent. She said the group has remained peaceful and its fundamental philosophy was to counter the state’s brutal actions using peaceful political means.
Allegations against Sabiha
The state, the Balochistan government and groups affiliated with it in the province have failed to damage her image or crush her committment towards her work or her spirit. So, she said, they have resorted to levelling a new – and baseless – allegation.
On March 18, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti held a press conference where a young Baloch woman, Farzana Zehri, was produced who, authorities said, had been apprehended in a recent operation. When she was asked to speak Farzana alleged that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Pakistani Taliban, had recruited her for a suicide attack and had instructed her to meet Sabiha Baloch. She also claimed, while Bugti sat there too, that TTP commanders had asked her to prepare other women for similar attacks.
تنظیم کی باتوں سے متاثر ہو کر میں خودکش حملے کیلئے تیار ہو گئی، مجھے مزید لڑکیوں کو فدائی کیلئے تیار کرنے کا کہا گیا، آج کے بعد ایسے کام نہ کرنے کا وعدہ کرتی ہوں گرفتار لڑکی#Balochistan........