When the Baloch National Movement (BNM) gathered in Geneva this month for what it called the 7th International Balochistan Conference, its message was familiar: accusations of human rights abuses, calls for international intervention, and rhetoric about self-determination. On the surface, it sounded like a plea for justice. But behind the carefully chosen words lies a troubling reality—the BNM is less a human rights advocate and more a propaganda arm for terror outfits like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
BNM presents itself as the “voice of the Baloch people,” yet its selective outrage reveals an entirely different agenda. The group is quick to amplify stories of “disappearances” and “extrajudicial killings,” but closer inspection shows how hollow these claims often are. Time and again, individuals listed as “missing” by BNM later resurface—as fighters in BLA ranks, as suicide bombers, or even as residents living abroad under false identities. One glaring example is Karim Jan, once paraded as a “missing person,” later exposed as a suicide attacker in Gwadar. Similarly, Sohaib Langove, cousin and bodyguard of activist Mahrang Baloch, was glorified as a BLA “martyr” even while BNM claimed him as a victim of state repression.
If BNM were truly committed to human rights, it would raise its voice against the very groups that wreak havoc across Balochistan. Terrorists in the BLA and BLF have assassinated teachers, bombed school buses, executed passengers, and targeted laborers working on development projects. Just last year, 23 bus passengers were brutally executed in Musakhail. The Jaffar Express was hijacked, with more than 400 passengers held hostage and many killed. In 2025, a school bus was attacked, killing children. Yet BNM’s silence on these atrocities is deafening. The reason is clear: condemning such violence would expose its alignment with the very perpetrators.
Dr Naseem’s widely coverage by Indian propaganda accounts raises serious questions on why Indian Media is particularly interested in his activities in Europe.Though he has less support from the diaspora, but still signals an alarming situation for the people of Balochistan, whose aspirations are wrongly presented across media sections.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is not blind to the grievances of its citizens in Balochistan. The state has established a Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, which has resolved over 8,000 cases. Courts in Pakistan have the authority to summon even prime ministers and federal ministers. Media and civil society routinely debate Balochistan’s issues, proving that accountability and dialogue are very much alive. These are not the hallmarks of a state seeking to “erase” its citizens, as BNM claims, but of one struggling—like many nations—to balance development, security, and rights in a difficult environment.
BNM’s hostility toward development projects further undermines its credibility. From the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to the Reko Diq mining initiative, every effort to bring jobs, infrastructure, and investment to Balochistan is dismissed by BNM as “exploitation.” Yet for ordinary Baloch families, these projects mean roads, electricity, schools, and livelihoods. By opposing them, BNM shows its true priorities: keeping the province underdeveloped and unstable to maintain its political relevance abroad.
Equally troubling is the international community’s willingness to host BNM’s activism without question. When platforms in Europe and the UN give uncritical space to groups like BNM, they inadvertently lend legitimacy to a narrative that sanitizes terrorism. It is no coincidence that BNM leaders lobbying in Western capitals never once condemn the BLA, now a US-designated terrorist organization. Their campaigns are not about human rights but about political cover—whitewashing violence in the language of justice.
The international community must ask hard questions. Why do groups like BNM never acknowledge the suffering caused by BLA and BLF attacks? Why do they glorify militants as martyrs while ignoring murdered schoolchildren and slain passengers? And why do they seek to block development projects that could uplift millions of ordinary Baloch citizens?
The truth is this: the people of Balochistan deserve peace, prosperity, and dignity. They deserve schools instead of slogans, jobs instead of bombings, and a future shaped by opportunity rather than terror. Groups like BNM, however, are invested in perpetuating instability, not resolving it.
Dr Naseem’s widely coverage by Indian propaganda accounts raises serious questions on why Indian Media is particularly interested in his activities in Europe.Though he has less support from the diaspora, but still signals an alarming situation for the people of Balochistan, whose aspirations are wrongly presented across media sections.
As long as the international community allows propaganda to masquerade as human rights advocacy, the real victims—the ordinary Baloch men, women, and children—will continue to suffer in silence. It is time to see BNM for what it truly is: not the defender of the Baloch people, but the apologist for those who terrorize them.
