“They can kill me in an encounter, as I have been receiving such threats for a long time,” warns Dr Sabiha Baloch, courageous and uncompromising leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), or Baloch Unity Committee, alongside another prominent figures in the organisation, Dr Mahrang Baloch.Sabiha has received numerous threats, including a serious allegation of blasphemy, made against her in August 2024 in Nushki city in Balochistan province, Pakistan.Sabiha said the Balochistan government and security forces were upset with her, for they have tried but failed to curb the activities of the BYC, despite portraying its work as violent. She said the group has remained peaceful and its fundamental philosophy was to counter the state’s brutal actions using peaceful political means.Allegations against SabihaThe state, the Balochistan government and groups affiliated with it in the province have failed to damage her image or crush her committment towards her work or her spirit. So, she said, they have resorted to levelling a new – and baseless – allegation.On March 18, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti held a press conference where a young Baloch woman, Farzana Zehri, was produced who, authorities said, had been apprehended in a recent operation. When she was asked to speak Farzana alleged that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Pakistani Taliban, had recruited her for a suicide attack and had instructed her to meet Sabiha Baloch. She also claimed, while Bugti sat there too, that TTP commanders had asked her to prepare other women for similar attacks.تنظیم کی باتوں سے متاثر ہو کر میں خودکش حملے کیلئے تیار ہو گئی، مجھے مزید لڑکیوں کو فدائی کیلئے تیار کرنے کا کہا گیا، آج کے بعد ایسے کام نہ کرنے کا وعدہ کرتی ہوں گرفتار لڑکی#Balochistan pic.twitter.com/Tka9zH1ao6— Daily Intekhab (@Intekhabhd) March 18, 2026However, going by earlier reports, Zehri was abducted on December 1, 2025, from Khuzdar, in Balochistan Province, by security agencies while she was on her way home. Her disappearance was reported at the time, including by the Baloch Women’s Forum, which shared the news on January 3.The Baloch Women’s Forum announced the disappearance of Farzana Zahri on January 3, 2026. Source: Facebook.Sabiha said that the allegations against here were not new, nor were attacks on Baloch women. However, since the state has made the Shari Baloch suicide attack incident in Karachi a pretext to silence political voices in the Baloch diaspora, especially women. This time, Sabiha said, the province’s chief minister has promoted a fabricated narrative “to frame me in order to kill me”. She was concerned that what was claimed at the press conference would be presented as evidence against her. She said the authorities might claim that they had tried to arrest her, but that she attempted to escape and was, therefore, killed in an ‘encounter’.Sabiha flatly denied ever having met Zehri. When she first learned about her, she had assumed the image had been generated by artificial intelligence. Later, she realised the woman had reportedly been abducted in December.Sabiha questioned the Pakistani authorities and the Balochistan government, asking why they held a press conference when the state there are set legal processes to follow through the courts. “Why do they insist on promoting propaganda?” she asked. She also expressed the concern that Zehri may have been tortured or threatened into delivering a scripted statement.Sabiha explained how her own father was threatened and then detained for nearly five months as the authorities tried to pressure her to surrender – she did not. This year, she said, security agencies warned her father to produce her, warning him he could not imagine how they would treat his daughter. Her father went silent for weeks. Sabiha said she has not been in touch with her family, though she receives updates through others.Death threatsDuring the Baloch Raaj Muchi, a peaceful protest event that translates to “Baloch National Gathering”, Sabiha says Dr Baloch warned her that the authorities had plans to kill her. Sabiha said that a senior police officer had threatened her during a negotiation between the BYC and the police at another public protest. Speaking in a harsh tone, the officer had told her, “If I had known you were at that protest, I would have given you a severe and tough time,” Sabiha said.She said the Balochistan government was angry over failing to have her arrested. As a result, some sources had informed her that the government would assassinate her instead.Ripple effect on Baloch women’s political activismSabiha’s voice grew somber as she reflected on the hard work Baloch women have put into creating political space for themselves. She said that the state’s groundless allegations would leave a black mark on the women’s political process.She added that these claims could, to some extent, create hurdles for women’s participation in politics. However, she was resolute that their work would ultimately change people’s minds and hearts, revealing to the Baloch what the government was doing and what the BYC was achieving. “BYC’s pro-people work will speak,” Sabiha said. “Not anti-women or anti-Baloch propaganda by the government.”Why human rights bodies, Baloch politicians are silent“I do not like having to beg human rights organisations to raise their voices against our brutal injustice and humiliation,” Sabiha said.With a disappointed tone, she said, “Didn’t human rights organisations or politicians see Chief Minister Balochistan Sarfraz Bugti’s press conference? Why should I have to approach them to be the voice of women? This is not just an allegation against me – such claims will affect others tomorrow.”“Forget what I, Mahrang or the BYC leaders are facing,” she continued. “Tell me, how many human rights organisations have spoken out against the rising enforced disappearances in Balochistan?”Missing persons cases riseSabiha shared that enforced disappearances surged to 188 in January-February this year, with Makran as the worst-affected region. Students made up the largest group of victims, including 14 minors and two women. She also noted a sharp rise in extrajudicial killings during the same period: across the province, 46 bodies were found. In Panjgur alone, 23 cases of extrajudicial killings were reported this year.Dr Mahrang Baloch’s cousin, Asma Baloch, said that her brother, Saifullah Baloch, 21, was abducted on March 12 from Manojan Road near Khalifa Chowk in Quetta. The police have refused to register a First Information Report regarding his abduction. Asma expressed concern for her brother’s safety, saying he was a sportsman and was not involved in politics.Sabiha strongly criticised the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose government rules Balochistan. “I never hesitate to call this political party a zalim political party, a cruel, oppressive political party against the Baloch,” she said. “At the very least, Bilawal Bhutto should honor his mother, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s sacrifice. Unfortunately, he is serving the establishment’s agenda.”