Today morning, as I was scrolling my social media account, I saw a picture of books getting “arrested” by Gwadar police, followed by some Baloch students of the Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC), the largest student organization in the Baloch areas. Other than any other legal notice, the “law enforcement agencies” were acting as “law-makers”, further claiming that the books “might be banned” and “anti-state”. After several accounts and facts, including the identification of their printing presses and publishers belonging to Pakistan with publishing authority, the police paid no heed and, finally, arrested the books along with the students, and took them to the police station. The books were locked in one room, and students in a separate lock-up.
On the occasion of New Year, 2025, BSAC called for a series of book stalls to observe the mark of a new era for Baloch as a year of consciousness. Under the banner of the said program, the committee initiated the year by staging book stalls in every possible city, town and village (which are still underway) through their zonal and central bodies. The stalls have not only gained great love from across the Baloch regions, but also sparked the hope of a glorified Baloch future with such healthy-minded student campaigns. The locals welcomed the committee with great love and space, which shows that Balochistan has always welcomed fruitful activities warmly which has clear Baloch intentions.
Witnessing the Baloch love for consciousness, anti-Baloch elements were hit hard, because their claims of “backward Balochistan”, “uneducated and uncivilized Baloch” and so forth were becoming vague – as part of their anti-Baloch media propagation. To hinder these stalls, police arrests and threats were used as “only available tools” to cease the pro-Baloch growth. Because the Baloch youth have with them the public support. Under the same policy, the police in the following cities and towns have harassed the Baloch students merely for arranging book fairs: Barkhan, Taunsa Shareef, Osta Mohammad, Yaro Khosa, Dera Murad Jamali, Sibbi, Jhal Magsi, Gaddani, Jaffarabad and Gwadar.
In their latest statement, while condemning the “unlawful police raid” on the book fair in Gwadar, the Central Spokesperson of BSAC raised serious concerns for four detained Baloch students. He added that the books were thoroughly checked and approved after which the students were said to be released with their books, but some people in civil clothes appeared, restraining the students from going. They were taken back to a room in the name of investigation and kept there without providing any other notice or update on it. “We fear that they will be subjected to mental and physical tortures,” he added.
What is more concerning is the hypocrisy of the people in “power” – as they term it. In 2023, The Balochistan Academy Turbat held a three-day literary festival in Kech where they asked several publishers and organizations for book stalls – including BSAC. At the end of the festival, books worth 3.5 million rupees were reportedly sold, marking it “highly successful”. The politicians, bureaucrats, academies, organizations, administrations, ‘scholars’, and who else not, took on the media, gatherings and programs that “Turbat is the most literate city”, “Turbat crossed others in the country”, “Turbat’s people are well-educated”, and what else was not said to not only take credit of what is a normal thing, but also portray an image of “educating and developing” Balochistan. Though all those only took credit by chance, very deep inside, it is, since then, established as a fact that the entire Balochistan is thirsty for books, knowledge and consciousness, only if state institutions allow them peacefully.
The recent state institutional crackdowns and threats in the BSAC’s stalls are the exact and clear situations of Balochistan, showing the world very plainly that who the anti-educational elements are in Balochistan. Baloch students are arrested in Gwadar just because they were spreading the colors of books in the city. What is more powerful is witnessing the mounting courage of the students despite such police crackdowns on their stalls. Balochistan is, for sure, developing, but as Baloch want them to. When the national youth are this much committed, it becomes irrelevant to counter them through force.
BSAC will continue to move forward, taking along the dream of an educated and conscious Baloch society practically. Because they are backed by an entire Baloch society.