Quetta, Dec 7 (LatestNewsX) – The year 2025 revealed that Balochistan is far from just turbulent; it’s heading toward a perilous path marked by political violence, state repression, and an unprecedented digital blackout, a report notes. The situation is so grave that some fear it may become “the new Bangladesh,” according to the same document.
The province faces a situation reminiscent of pre‑1971 Bangladesh: it is politically sidelined, its natural riches are extracted for the state’s gain while locals see no benefit, daily life is increasingly militarized, and there are concerted attempts to erase its distinct cultural identity, writes Greek journalist and author Dimitra Staikou of Pressenza International Press Agency.
“The year 2025 made it clear that the province is not simply in turmoil; it is on a dangerous trajectory combining political violence, state repression, and an unprecedented digital blackout. The Baloch Liberation Army and other armed groups intensified their attacks, claiming more than 280 operations in the first half of the year alone. The March abduction of the Jaffar Express train – an incident resembling a war zone more than an internal security lapse – exposed the government’s inability to safeguard even its essential infrastructure. Bombings throughout the autumn of 2025 and the recent assault on the Frontier Corps base in Nokkundi confirmed that insurgent forces remain resilient, organised, and capable of striking at the region’s core,” he wrote.
“The escalating unrest in Balochistan has raised global fears that the province is becoming ‘the new Bangladesh.’ Balochistan and Bangladesh share a troubling historical and political parallel: both have endured systematic state repression by Pakistan through similar tactics—violent crackdowns on protests, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the use of paramilitary or religious extremist groups to discipline and control the population. Like Bangladesh before 1971, Balochistan faces political marginalisation, economic exploitation of its natural resources without benefit to the local population, militarisation of daily life, and efforts to erase its national and cultural identity,” she added.
In both regions intellectuals, activists and journalists have been targeted while religion is leveraged for social control and political repression. The common pattern is a deliberate campaign to silence those calling for self‑determination—Bangladesh ultimately won its freedom, but Balochistan remains mired in bloodshed.
The Pakistani authorities’ decision to suspend internet services across Balochistan has turned the province into a “black hole” of information, where human‑rights abuses can occur unchecked, undocumented, and without consequence, the report emphasises. Meanwhile, religious minorities—including Christians, Hazara Shia, Hindus, Ahmadis, and smaller groups like the Zikri—live under a constant threat. Blasphemy laws are wielded as intimidation tools, leading to arbitrary arrests or even mob lynchings.
“The Pakistani state represses minorities in Balochistan not out of mere prejudice, but because it views repression as a strategic necessity.”
“First, it deeply fears secession: Balochistan has a strong national movement demanding self‑determination, control of local resources, and an end to military presence—and a potential breakaway could inspire similar aspirations in other provinces, threatening Pakistan’s territorial cohesion. Second, the state employs religion as a mechanism of social control, empowering hardline Islamist groups, disproportionate blasphemy laws, and religious networks to homogenise ethnic identities under an Islamic umbrella and paint Baloch nationalism as ‘anti‑Islamic’ or ‘separatist.’ Third, it seeks to maintain absolute control over the province’s vast natural wealth—gas, gold, copper, lithium—which fuels the national economy while the local population remains excluded and deprived of basic infrastructure,” the Pressenza report said.
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