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QUETTA: The senior leader of a prominent Baloch nationalist party on Sunday accused Balochistan police of stopping “peaceful” supporters from marching toward the provincial capital of Quetta to demand the release of rights activists, as authorities warned of stern action against anyone violating a ban on public gatherings. 

The Balochistan National Party (BNP-M), led by lawmaker Sardar Akhtar Mengal, on Friday announced its supporters would march from Lakpass toward Quetta after two rounds of talks with officials failed to yield any results.

The BNP-M is demanding the release of Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s (BYC) top leader, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, and several of her colleagues who were arrested on Mar. 22 after staging a sit-in outside the University of Balochistan. Pakistani authorities charged them with “terrorism,” sedition and murder following a protest in which three demonstrators were killed, according to police documents.

Sanaullah Baloch, a senior BNP-M leader, said police stopped the party’s march from Lakpass, an area between Quetta and Mastung cities, from proceeding further toward Quetta on Sunday morning. 

“We started our march toward Quetta this morning but the police stopped us, citing the imposition of section 144,” Baloch told Arab News, referring to a legal provision that empowers authorities to ban public gatherings of more than four people to maintain law and order.

He said the provincial government has deployed a “large number of troops” at Lakpass who have surrounded the area to stop the march. 

“We are peaceful and we will attempt again to start our march for the release of our detained daughters including Dr. Mahrang Baloch,” he vowed. 

Baloch expressed concern over the heavy presence of troops in the area. 

“We are hearing that Sardar Mengal is likely to be arrested but we will remain peaceful and the government will be responsible for any confrontation,” he warned. 

Separately, Mengal took to social media platform X and alleged that a major operation against the party was “imminent.”

“I call upon all districts to immediately shut down all national highways in protest,” he wrote. “Let the world witness this injustice. We remain peaceful, but resolute. Whatever unfolds today— the consequences, the blood, the fallout— will rest solely on the shoulders of the government and the local administration.”

Quetta Deputy Commissioner Saad Bin Asad warned that action would be taken against anyone who violated section 144. 

“The district administration would take action against whoever violates section 144 and attempts to disturb the law-and-order situation in Quetta,” Asad told Arab News. 

Shahid Rind, spokesperson for the Balochistan government, had issued the same warning a day earlier. 

“The provincial government is ready to allow Mengal and his party to protest at Sariab Road [in Quetta], but he is adamant on entering the Red Zone,” Rind said at a news conference on Saturday, referring to a high-security area housing key government buildings.

“The Government of Balochistan will not allow anyone to violate Section 144, and action will be taken against protesters,” he added. 

On Friday, Pakistan’s top army generals met to review the national security situation and pledged not to let “foreign-backed proxies” and their “political supporters” destabilize Balochistan.

Authorities have long claimed a nexus between the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) militants and BYC activists, an allegation the latter denies.

The crackdown on BYC leaders followed a deadly train attack last month in Balochistan, in which BLA separatists took hundreds of passengers hostage. The standoff lasted nearly 36 hours until the army launched a rescue operation, killing 33 militants.

A final count showed 26 passengers had also died in the incident.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s self-published novelist Alishba Khan Barech bagged the “Young Woman of the Year” award at the Women Changing the World Awards 2025 program this week, state-run media reported, dedicating her victory to the people of the southwestern Balochistan province she hails from. 

Barech is Pakistan’s youngest self-published author and a native of Balochistan province’s Nushki district, which often features in headlines for militant attacks. She was announced as one of 12 finalists for the Young Woman of the Year award in February 2025, selected from a pool of 751 nominations across over 50 countries.

The Women Changing The World Awards is a global program that honors women making a positive impact across industries such as business, sustainability, leadership, health, education, innovation, and technology. The awards ceremony was held at the Park Hyatt London River Thames from Apr. 2-3. 

“As I’ve said before, my mission has always been to rewrite the narratives that define us,” Barech was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). 

“This award is dedicated with all my heart to my parents, my teachers, my beloved province Balochistan, and my country Pakistan.”

The Pakistani writer said winning the award was “more than a personal milestone” for her, adding that it was proof that stories of resilience rise from Nushki and “not just headlines of conflict and militancy we’ve grown used to.”

State-run APP said Barech’s work centers on rewriting dominant narratives, particularly around Balochistan, where separatists are fighting the state for a larger share in the province’s natural resources. 

“She is Pakistan’s youngest novelist and memoirist, having written her debut novel at the age of 11, youngest memoirist at 14 and self-published author at 16,” the APP said. 

It said Barech has worked with UNICEF Pakistan as its youth ambassador for mental health and polio eradication, adding that she currently serves as a youth adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and is also a member of the National Youth Council. 

The Pakistani author serves as a youth ambassador for the cricket franchise Quetta Gladiators and is the first Pashtun woman from Balochistan, South Asia, to secure a merit scholarship to the John Locke Summer University.