By Bazla Jamil

Over the past few years, the security of Pakistan and especially Balochistan has seen a threatening change in the way militant networks are maintaining influence, recruiting and gaining international acknowledgment. Where in the past violence was the only order of the day in separatist movements, we find today a hybrid form of separatist movements that is a combination of armed militancy and social activists, propaganda, and rhetoric on human rights. The central figure of this shift is the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), which is gradually becoming the face of apparent and organized that the Fitna-e-Hindustan and other militant outfits seem to take.

- Advocacy to Proxy Operations.

The law enforcement agencies claim that the scenario described of BYC as a proxy network is not hypothetical. Instead, it has been included in the official government documents since 2025 underpinned by steady intelligence reports and, more lately, recorded evidence and confessions. The government insists that BYC is not a sovereign human rights entity, but rather a multi-tier support system, ensuring the recruitment, narrative-building, and grassroots infiltration on behalf of militant organizations, which are based in Balochistan.

According to the security officials, BYC covers ideological and social legitimacy to armed separatist groups, which enables them to remain pertinent even when they are weak operationally. The organization has succeeded in protecting militant forces by working in the civic and humanitarian arena where the entity is not immediately subject to scrutiny, and continues to win the publicity by appealing to the emotions and political charged stories.

- Jaffar Express Incident and Co-ordinated Propaganda.

The Jaffar Express incident in March 2025 was a pivotal point in the disclosure by the population. In the aftermath of the attack, the Director General ISPR vowed that the terrorism in Balochistan is supported with organized propaganda campaigns being implemented with the help of the proxy organizations. According to him, these campaigns are aimed at influencing the general perception, train the institutions of the state, and rebrand the perpetrators as victims. Soon after the attack, BYC led by Mahrang Baloch made an attempt to steal away the bodies of killed terrorists in hospitals forcefully. This action which was prominently covered in national media was termed as a criminal act of hindering identification and legal processes. The government pointed out that these measures are intended to avoid the disclosure of the identity and affiliation of militants. One of the common strategies, they claim, is to automatically classify dead militants as missing persons, prior to verifying the fact. This preemptive narrative framing gives the illusion of victimization and it focuses on the realities of terrorist engagement.

- Authoritative Affirmation and Tactic Weaponization of Narratives.

On 23 May 2025, the DG ISPR declared in a press brief beyond any doubt that BYC and its leaders were supposedly acting as proxies and facilitators in terrorist networks. He also pointed out that the story of enforced disappearances is being systematically weaponized, not as an actual human rights issue, but as an instrument of political leverage to deter counter-terrorism operations and invoke sympathy back home and overseas. This stand has since been strengthened by the fact that later subsequent arrests and intelligence-based operations that were conducted by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and police forces in Balochistan.

- The Sajid Ahmed Case: The Case Study Evidence.

The most eye opening one was the arrest of Sajid Ahmed, a Turbat resident. Sajid Ahmed, according to DIG Aitezaz Goraya, was a Master’s student of Sociology at the International Islamic University Islamabad and himself had taught at government colleges and at the University of Turbat. Although he is an academic, it was found that he was in constant contact with BYC leadership, and at the same time plotted terrorist networks. Sajid Ahmed also confirmed long-held intelligence judgments in his confession statement and admitted his connections to the Baloch Yakjehti Committee. The DIG CTD also confirmed the arrest of three other facilitators saying that all the persons involved in the intelligence facilitation or terrorist support had a previous relationship with BYC.

- Juvenile Recruiting and Exploitation of Discontent.

The systematic recruitment of minors, perhaps, is the most frightening part of the investigation. Some of the apprehended included 18 year old Sarfaraz of Kharan who had been assigned the duty of reconnaissance of the police activities and polio teams. DIG CTD has indicated that Sarfaraz was first recruited into BYC where he had been involved in protests and road blockades before being compelled into the militant activity. Jehanzeb alias Mehrban (20) recruited Sarfaraz who introduced another 18-year-old Bezan to BYC. Bezan had lost his brother Shafqat Yar who had been killed in an assault on the Levies Force in Khad Kocha. Investigators indicate that family loss, deprivation, and emotional trauma are being purposefully used to radicalize and get youth recruited. Although Fitna-e-Hindustan has continued to claim that it has not used women or children, it has been proven to be wrong. The officials say that BYC is being utilized as a recruitment center of underage people, which are then directed to terrorism.

- State Response and Rehabilitation.

The government has responded to such developments by declaring that it has planned to set up rehabilitation centres in Quetta and Turbat. To provide an alternative way through which these youths can be integrated into the militant networks, as opposed to being integrated permanently, DIG CTD notes that these facilities will be aimed at psychological counseling, parental engagement, and social reintegration.

- Global Propaganda and Specialist review.

Security critics believe that BYC offers a human rights smokescreen that is triggered the moment that terrorist attacks take place and re-explains the attackers as victims and avoids responsibility. It is also noted that it is not spontaneous, given the fact that the international propaganda of BYC, especially in Europe, is due to external patronage and an organized strategy. The March 2025 Jaffar Express incident, the DG ISPR disclosures in March and May 2025 and the evidence-based CTD briefing in January 2026 all made respectively will be a consistent, coherent and documented history. According to the experts, there is very little ambiguity about the role of BYC in its operations based on this record.

* Bazla is a skilled content writer with over six years of experience in social and current affairs. Known for blending analytical insights with compelling storytelling, she specializes in research-based narratives and misinformation verification.