Baloch National Movement blasts Pakistani Army over 'baseless propaganda campaign'

Quetta, Jan 7 The Baloch National Movement (BNM) strongly condemned the Pakistani military over what it described as a "baseless propaganda campaign" against its leadership.

This came against the backdrop of BNM's campaign against Islamabad's preferential trade status under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) in light of the grave human rights abuses across Balochistan.

The rights body alleged that the Pakistani Army is not only directly involved in grave crimes against humanity through the unlawful use of state power against the Baloch people, but also conducting media trials and "so-called fifth-generation warfare doctrine", to spread disinformation.

"The objective of this propaganda is not only to generate negative opinion on social media regarding the Baloch movement, but also to create serious and tangible difficulties for peaceful political activists both inside the country and abroad. The world is well aware that agents of the Pakistan Army have been involved in serious crimes, including attempted assassinations, against their political opponents, among them members and associates of the BNM in neighbouring and Western countries," the BNM stated.

According to the party, its leader Naseem Baloch, whom Major General Ahmed Sharif, the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) -- the official media and public relations wing for Pakistan's Armed Forces, falsely accuses of involvement in armed activities -- promotes the Baloch struggle for freedom through peaceful political means.

"We categorically reject this false and malicious propaganda against him," it added.

The party noted that Pakistan's GSP+ privileges cannot co-exist with its persistent human rights violations, prompting the BNM to run a strong campaign across Europe to highlight this.

The BNM added that after the campaign gained momentum, the Pakistani Army and state institutions intensified their propaganda against the BNM in an attempt to "sabotage" these efforts.

"European institutions must now develop a clearer understanding that Pakistan not only physically harms peaceful political activists but also seeks to destroy their reputations and lives through systematic disinformation and false propaganda. Pakistan has a long-standing practice of portraying victims as criminals and the oppressed as oppressors," it emphasised.

Asserting that the Baloch people would not be deceived by such tactics, the BNM said it views such moves by Pakistan as a clear act of harassment. The party stressed that it would not be intimidated into silence and that Pakistan would be confronted at every level.

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