London [UK], January 28 : Baloch leader Hyrbyair Marri brought attention to the ongoing horrors that the Pashtun and Baloch communities endure under Pakistan's repressive control in a stirring statement to the Pashtun National Council (Jirga). Marri brought attention to the Pakistani state's systematic exploitation, enforced disappearances, and violence against various ethnic communities.
"The sufferings of the Baloch and Pashtun under Pakistan's occupation are countless and unending," Marri stated, emphasizing the urgent need for unity between the two nations to resist colonial oppression.
He recalled previous instances of solidarity, such as the Treaty of Kalat in 1758, in which Afghan and Baloch leaders promised to respect and support one another. He asked both groups to rekindle this spirit in their struggle for independence.
Marri compared British imperialism to the colonial strategies that Pakistan acquired. He denounced Pakistan's continuous military actions in Balochistan, pointing to unlawful executions, torture, and enforced disappearances as means of quelling dissent. The Baloch leader cited the targeted profiling of Pashtuns and killings like the 1948 Barbra event in Charsadda, claiming that these practices were continuations of the British heritage of divide and conquer.
Recalling how Pashtun tribes were utilized as frontline combatants in 1948 while Punjabi elites remained behind, he also denounced Pakistan's abuse of Baloch and Pashtun youth. He also drew attention to the fact that thousands of Baloch youths were forcibly drafted into the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and sent to die under pretences of religious salvation.
Marri condemned Pakistan's racial profiling of Afghan refugees, primarily Pashtuns, and their forced deportation as a pressure tactic against Afghanistan. "These people have lived here for generations, yet they are treated as disposable," he said.
Calling for a renewed alliance between the Baloch and Pashtun nations, Marri declared, "Our unity is the path to freedom. Together, we will break the chains of occupation and build a future rooted in justice, sovereignty, and peace."
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