Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) chief Allah Nazar Baloch has voiced strong support for the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), stating that their resistance against Pakistani and Punjabi domination proves that 'oppressed nations cannot be subjugated by force,' according to local media reports on Thursday, 11 June. The remarks come amid a wave of deadly clashes between law enforcement personnel and protesters in Rawalakot, PoK, that reportedly left dozens dead and hundreds injured.

Key Developments

In a formal statement, Allah Nazar Baloch said Pakistan could no longer impose its will on the people of PoK, framing the Kashmiri struggle as a legitimate demand for basic rights and self-determination. He specifically highlighted what he described as Punjab's continuing domination over the region, noting that decisions affecting PoK were reportedly being taken by secretary-level officials in Islamabad rather than by the region's own people.

'We morally and politically support the freedom struggle of Kashmiris, Pashtuns and Sindhis,' The Balochistan Post quoted him as saying. The BLF leader stressed that resisting such domination was 'the right of oppressed nations' and called the struggle for freedom 'the duty of oppressed regions.'

Background: Unrest in Rawalakot

The BLF chief's statement follows a series of violent confrontations between Pakistani law enforcement and protesters in Rawalakot city, PoK. The unrest intensified after Pakistani authorities declared the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) a proscribed organisation under anti-terrorism laws. The JAAC had previously organised protests over economic grievances and political rights in the region.

Videos circulating on social media reportedly showed police action against civilians in the territory, drawing condemnation from human rights advocates internationally. This is not the first time the JAAC has mobilised residents — the committee has a history of agitation over electricity tariffs, subsidies, and governance autonomy.

Human Rights Voices

Sabine Kayani, a UK-based Pakistani-origin human rights lawyer, criticised the Pakistani authorities' handling of the unrest in a post on X. In her post, she stated that peaceful protesters were seeking 'bread, electricity, dignity' but received 'live fire, clouds of tear gas that choked the streets' in return.

'They demanded bread, electricity, dignity, and those rights stolen from their rivers and their future. They marched against the crippling electricity bills generated by their own dams, against subsidies vanishing into far-off pockets, and against a system that treats them as mere tenants on their ancestral land. The response came in the form of live fire and clouds of tear gas that choked the streets. Funerals turned into scenes of further violence, with reports of elders, women, and young men listed as martyrs — shot down as they buried their dead. Pakistan's army, under the command of General Asim Munir, stands accused of turning grief into a massacre,' Kayani stated.

Wider Significance

The BLF's public alignment with PoK's protest movement is notable: a Baloch separatist organisation extending solidarity to Kashmiri and Pashtun movements signals a broader, cross-regional narrative of grievance against what critics describe as centralised Pakistani state authority. Notably, this convergence of dissent — from Balochistan to PoK — has drawn increasing international attention to Pakistan's internal fault lines.

As protests continue and international scrutiny mounts, the Pakistani government has yet to formally respond to the BLF statement or the human rights criticisms raised by figures such as Kayani.