A protest sit-in against the militarization of educational institutions in POB and their illegal closure has entered its 19th day at Bolan Medical College, with no signs of abatement. The protest, initiated by Baloch students, has gained significant attention and is now part of a broader movement calling for justice and the restoration of basic rights across the province.
On Sunday, Dr. Mah Rang Baloch, the central organizer of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, and Bibgar Baloch, a member of the central committee, joined the protest and expressed solidarity with the students. They reiterated the importance of supporting the fight against the Army’s oppressive policies targeting Baloch educational institutions.
The protesters have condemned the illegal closure of Bolan Medical College for over a month, describing it as a deliberate attempt to suppress the aspirations of Baloch students. In a further blow to the academic community, the hostels at Balochistan University have also been sealed, with students evicted from their dorms, their belongings forcibly removed. This has sparked outrage, as the occupied-authorities are using these closures as a pretext to enforce a militarization agenda across POB’s educational landscape.
This wave of repression is part of a systematic effort to profile and silence the Baloch community, particularly its youth. There are growing fears that such measures will lead to an increase in forced disappearances, a tactic long employed by the Pak military and intelligence agencies to stifle Baloch community.
The situation in POB has grown dire. The province has now become a laboratory of human tragedies. Students face daily repression and violence at the hands of a brutal occupying force, the Pak military and its affiliates. The region’s educational institutions, including Bolan Medical College, have been transformed into hotbeds of resistance against the Pak Army’s violent crackdown.
The raid on the university hostels and the subsequent violence perpetrated by Quetta police is not an isolated incident but part of a broader, troubling pattern of Army-sanctioned brutality. These actions are symptomatic of the larger systemic prejudice and repression that the Baloch community faces on a daily basis under the current regime. The brutality on display is a direct attack on the basic rights of the people of POB, with the Army continuing to suppress dissent and silence voices calling for justice.
The protesting students have vowed that their sit-in will continue until the Bolan Medical College and the hostels are reopened and the oppressive military presence in their institutions is dismantled. They have called on all people, from every walk of life, to join their struggle and raise their voices against the injustice being perpetrated on Baloch students and the wider Baloch population.