Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) raises alarm over alleged atrocities, militarisation, displacement and civilian deaths in Balochistan, highlighting concerns in Mastung and Gwadar over destroyed orchards, aerial violence, livelihoods and forced displacement while urging the international community to act.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a Baloch human rights organisation, has raised serious concerns over what it described as an escalating campaign of militarisation, repression, displacement and violence against civilians in Balochistan. The rights body alleged that Pakistani authorities are pursuing a systematic policy that has increasingly disrupted civilian life, destroyed livelihoods and forced communities to live amid growing insecurity.
In a statement, the BYC said the situation in several parts of Balochistan could no longer be viewed as a series of isolated incidents. It alleged that violence, displacement and economic destruction were occurring as interconnected elements of a broader policy targeting civilian communities.
According to the rights body, the discovery of mutilated bodies of Baloch civilians abandoned along roadsides is among the most disturbing manifestations of the violence. The BYC described the incidents as evidence of what it called the “brutality and inhumanity” of the situation.
The organisation said violence had become part of everyday life for residents, with civilians allegedly being forced to continue their daily activities around the bodies of people killed in the violence.
“What is happening in Balochistan is not a series of isolated incidents,” the BYC stated, alleging that militarisation, destroyed livelihoods, displacement and violence against civilian life were being applied together as part of a deliberate strategy.
The rights body also expressed grave concern over developments in Mastung district, particularly the reported destruction of orchards that provide livelihoods for thousands of people. It alleged that the cutting of trees was taking place under a state policy, putting both the environment and the economic survival of local communities at risk.
The BYC highlighted the timing of the reported destruction, pointing to growing global efforts to protect forests and land amid the climate crisis. It argued that cutting down orchards could have consequences extending beyond immediate economic losses, affecting the environment and the traditional livelihoods of communities dependent on agricultural land.
The organisation further alleged that authorities were moving towards the displacement of local communities in the Shor Parod area of Mastung. According to the BYC, the alleged displacement threatens not only homes but an entire system of survival built around land, water, livestock and agriculture.
“This is not simply relocation; it is the loss of an entire system of survival: land, water, livestock, livelihoods, and generations of connection to the land,” the rights body said.
The BYC also pointed to the Shadi-Kaur area in Gwadar district as an example of what it described as the wider consequences of such policies. It said villages had been emptied, agricultural fields abandoned and communities displaced from their homes.
The rights body alleged that a similar situation was emerging in Khadkocha and adjoining areas of Mastung. It claimed that drones were being observed over civilian areas and that people had been killed or injured while working in their own orchards.
The BYC rejected the characterisation of such incidents as mere “collateral damage”. Instead, it argued that civilian deaths, injuries, displacement and economic losses should be viewed as the direct human consequences of policies imposed on the people of Balochistan.
The organisation said fear, economic destruction, displacement and aerial violence were interconnected rather than separate problems. It alleged that these factors were being used sequentially to make parts of Balochistan increasingly difficult for local communities to inhabit.
The BYC further criticised the use of counterterrorism and security-related terminology to describe the situation. It argued that such language could make the consequences of displacement and violence appear procedural rather than political, while contributing to what it described as the erosion of Baloch presence from their traditional lands.
The rights body called on the international community to pay closer attention to developments in Balochistan and urged global actors not to ignore reports of alleged abuses against civilians.
“We urge the world not to look away from Balochistan. It is happening now,” the BYC said, warning that silence and inaction could allow alleged violations to remain unseen.
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The allegations made by the BYC highlight continuing concerns over civilian safety, displacement, livelihoods and human rights in Balochistan. The rights body’s statement underscores its demand for greater international scrutiny of the situation and accountability for alleged abuses against local communities.
