Pakistan: Tormenting Baloch Women

Eurasia Review |Tushar Ranjan Mohanty

On 27 August 2026, the Balochistan Government put bounties of 1 to 1.5 million rupees on nine Baloch women. They claimed these women had links to the Baloch Liberation Army. At the same time, there has been a sudden increase in reports of female activists, students, and healthcare workers going missing, allegedly at the hands of Pakistani security forces.

Between January and July 2026, human rights groups say twenty-three women were forcibly disappeared. Earlier, security forces mostly went after men. Now, after female suicide bombers from the Majeed Brigade carried out attacks like the 2022 Karachi Confucius Institute bombing, the authorities have started targeting women as well. Even peaceful groups like the Baloch Yakjehti Committee are facing arrests and forced confessions. This only adds fuel to the fire in the region.

Comment

Pakistani security forces have changed their approach. Earlier, they focused on men. But after women like Shaari Baloch carried out suicide attacks, starting with the 2022 Confucius Institute case, the authorities now see female activists as a direct threat. The old model is gone. Now, any political activity by women is treated as a security issue.

Now, the Counter Terrorism Department and ISI work together, carrying out late-night raids in cities like Quetta and Khuzdar. They keep women in detention for long periods and show forced confessions on TV, like what happened with Mahal Baloch in 2023. The idea is to break the Majeed Brigade’s recruitment. But these actions also damage the Department’s credibility in Balochistan.

Strategic Question for Discussion

How does the Counter Terrorism Department's reliance on coerced confessions and administrative detentions of female activists affect the Majeed Brigade's long-term recruitment dynamics in Balochistan?

Looking at the pattern, these aggressive detentions might slow down the Majeed Brigade for a while. But in the long run, they prove the Brigade’s point about state overreach. Targeting female activists only pushes local communities further away. Instead of stopping recruitment, the state may end up creating more sympathisers among women.

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