Quetta, May 14 A leading student organisation strongly condemned the removal of Balochi and Brahui language programmes from Pakistan's radio broadcasts under the 'Balochistan Digital Policy 2026', calling the Pakistani authorities' move "extreme cunning and malice".
The Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC) said that the decision, along with cuts to the annual funding of the Balochi Academy, is an attempt to eradicate the languages of the Baloch community.
According to the student body, the two major languages in Balochistan --Balochi and Brahui -- are already facing the threat of extinction. It is alleged that the government has neither made reasonable arrangements for their promotion and development nor introduced practical steps for their preservation.
"Across the world, states provide education in mother tongues and create literature for their advancement so that a vast reservoir of knowledge exists in mother tongues. Yet in Balochistan, instead of developing mother tongues, the government is bent on eliminating them. This is a process directly tied to the identity of the Baloch nation. While the government claims on one hand to improve school functionality and literacy rates, on the other hand, we see restrictions and barriers being imposed on Balochi and Brahui languages," the BSAC stated.
The student body said that an undeclared ban on mother tongues has long been imposed in Balochistan, pushing the languages "perilously close to extinction". Instead of preserving these languages, it said, the government is attempting to eradicate them completely.
The BSAC claimed that a conspiracy was hatched last year to abolish the departments of Balochi, Brahui, and Pashto languages at the University of Balochistan -- regarded as the "ancient and major seat of learning" in the province. It added that Pakistani authorities attempted to defend the move by introducing a bill in the assembly, citing declining student enrolment.
"We believe this, too, is a deliberate conspiracy, as these departments were intentionally denied the facilities needed for students to enrol and study. Not only that, but recently the government has stated that cuts will be made to the allocated annual funds of the Balochi Academy, which works purely for the preservation and development of the mother tongue -- this is outright oppression and injustice against mother tongues. Now, Brahui and Balochi language programmes are being terminated from Radio Pakistan under the 'Balochistan Digital Policy 2026'," the BSAC noted.
The student organisation said such measures amount to an attack on the identity of the Baloch people, arguing that language and culture form the foundation of a nation's identity and that the eradication of language ultimately erases people's existence.
"This policy is being implemented with extreme cunning and malice. We not only strongly condemn such decisions in the harshest terms but also regard these actions as tantamount to the exploitation of languages, which deeply concerns us. We demand that these decisions, rooted in malice against languages, be immediately reviewed and withdrawn," it added.
--IANS
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor