Baloch National Movement (BNM) Chairman Dr. Naseem Baloch stated that today marks the ninth death anniversary of former Secretary General Dr. Mannan Baloch. On January 30, 2016, Pakistani occupation forces martyred him along with four of his companions—Babu Nauroz, Hanif Baloch, Ashraf Baloch, and Sajid Jan in Mastung. Dr. Mannan Baloch, a fearless leader, was on a political tour with his comrades. His powerful voice for Baloch freedom became intolerable to Pakistan, so he was assassinated and this powerful voice was silenced by the power of the gun.
He stated that Dr. Mannan Baloch was not just a political leader but the intellectual foundation and ideological pillar of our national movement. A well-read and insightful individual, he consciously dedicated his life to the freedom of the Baloch nation. As a doctor, he could have chosen to live a comfortable and seemingly safe life, but he did not see the slavery of the Baloch land and the endangered national survival and identity, and he chose the thorny path of struggle. His thinking, struggle and ideas did not allow him to be a silent spectator. He remained steadfast in the principles of freedom, justice and national dignity until his last breath and sacrificed his life in this path.
Dr. Naseem Baloch stated that the Pakistani state targeted Dr. Mannan Baloch because he was an unyielding voice against its oppressive occupation and colonial rule. His assassination was not an isolated incident but part of a systematic policy of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and genocide against the Baloch nation which aims to silence every voice raised for freedom. However, the occupying state has failed in its goal. Dr. Mannan’s martyrdom has strengthened the Baloch resistance, inspiring a new generation to carry forward the struggle with even greater determination and resilience.
He said that this day marks the renewal of our commitment to the Baloch national movement, which grows stronger with every passing moment. We reaffirm our pledge that Dr. Mannan Baloch’s dream of an independent Balochistan will not remain an idea but will become a reality. We will prove that his blood was not shed in vain—it has nourished the roots of our struggle. His ideology lives on in the consciousness every Baloch who refuses to bow to oppression and continues to resist for freedom, dignity, and sovereignty.
Dr. Naseem Baloch said that the ongoing genocide and bloodshed in Balochistan demand that the international community acknowledge Pakistan’s state terrorism and war crimes. The silence of the global conscience only increases the debt of Baloch blood. The world must not remain a passive spectator as Pakistan intensifies killings, enforced disappearances, and grave human rights violations. The Baloch nation is fighting for justice and freedom, and it is the moral duty of the world to be our voice against oppression.
He said that although Dr. Mannan Baloch and his colleagues were silenced by bullets, their thoughts and ideas remain alive. Ideas cannot be killed. Dr. Jan and his colleagues are alive in every thought that rejects slavery, in every step moving toward freedom and are alive in every voice that is raised against oppression. Their sacrifice has been immortalized in the history of the Baloch national struggle and it will continue to illuminate our path like a guiding light. As long as even a single Baloch stands firm against slavery, Dr. Mannan Baloch’s legacy is alive and his struggle continues. Victory is inevitable because the days of oppression do not last forever but freedom is at the top of the eternal goals of every conscious nation.
