QUETTA: Before the formation of the Baloch Youth Council (BYC) in 2020, no any woman in Balochistan had carried out a suicide attack.
However, after BYC was established, highly educated Shari Baloch carried out a suicide bombing at University of Karachi in 2022.
Since then, women including Sumaiya Qalandrani, Mahkan Baloch, Mahl Baloch, Zarina Rafiq Baloch, Hawa Baloch, and Asia Mengal have carried out suicide attacks.
Dozens of women are reportedly present at BLA training camps, with training videos openly released by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) itself.
Historically, even though insurgency has persisted in Balochistan since 1947, women had no tradition of conducting suicide attacks prior to BYC’s emergence.
Available evidence suggests that while BYC publicly raises issues of enforced disappearances and human rights, behind the scenes it serves as a “recruitment nursery” for the BLA.
Through the BYC platform, the State of Pakistan is portrayed as an “occupying, oppressive, and colonial power,” a narrative used to instill hatred among young women and children.
Speeches by leaders such as Sabiha Baloch consistently promote the idea of “Baloch Raj” and resistance against the state, which directly paves the way for militancy.
Records show that women who carried out suicide attacks had, at some level, exposure to BYC’s protest camps or messaging.
Experts note that BYC provides raw recruits, which the BLA’s Majid Brigade then converts into operational militants.
