A senior Baloch nationalist leader has issued a sharp denunciation of Pakistan and Iran, calling for an end to what he described as the “modern slavery and occupation of Balochistan”, amid reports of fresh violence in Baloch-populated areas.
Hyrbyair Marri, the most prominent Baloch nationalist figure and president of the Free Balochistan Movement, said in a statement posted on X that the time had come to end what he termed the occupation of Balochistan by both Pakistan and Iran. He accused the two states of jointly suppressing the Baloch people and dividing their homeland through what he called an unjust political arrangement.
His remarks followed reports of attacks on Baloch civilian populations in several cities in Iranian-occupied Balochistan, including Zahedan, Chabahar, Iranshahr and Konarak. Marri blamed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for the violence, alleging a pattern of fear, intimidation and extrajudicial killings directed at the Baloch population.
According to the Baloch leader, such actions would “no longer be tolerated” and had pushed the Baloch people towards open resistance. He argued that when Baloch communities attempt to defend themselves, they are swiftly labelled by the authorities, while what he described as lynching and mass killings of Baloch civilians are ignored by the international community.
Marri also accused Pakistan of continuing what he called an illegal occupation of Balochistan, asserting that Islamabad has systematically denied the Baloch people their political rights, control over their resources and basic security. He rejected any arrangement between Iran and Pakistan that, in his words, legitimises the division of Baloch land across international borders.
“The world has ignored the pain and suffering of the Baloch people long enough,” he said, adding that continued silence had only emboldened both Tehran and Islamabad. He called on Baloch groups to unite and to seek alliances with other nations and communities living under what he described as illegitimate rule.
The statements are likely to further strain Pakistan’s already tense relationship with Baloch activists, as well as draw attention to long-standing allegations of human rights abuses in Baloch regions on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border. While both governments have repeatedly rejected such claims, Baloch leaders insist that international scrutiny is long overdue.
