By: Salma Khan
Quetta: A horrible incident took place in Baluchistan in which a woman and her husband were brutally shot dead in front of a crowd in the name of honour.
They were buried at the roadside in Awaran. At first glance, it appeared to be yet another tragic case of honour killing in a remote part of the province. But as we dug deeper, a disturbing reality began to emerge—this was not just a cultural crime, it was a political message cloaked in blood.
Behind this killing, evidence points toward the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a group that brands itself as a resistance movement but increasingly resembles a terror network hollowed out from within by infighting, desperation, and ideological decay. In this case, the BLA didn’t just carry out the murder—it justified it. Through its social media proxies, the group tried to frame the killing as an act of tribal honor, a punishment for a young woman who had allegedly defied tradition.
Let’s be clear: this was not an honor. It was an execution. It was a message. And it was terror.
The young woman in question was allegedly linked by blood or association to a BLA commander. She was rumored to have made personal choices—perhaps seeking marriage or companionship outside the militant framework—that angered the so-called custodians of Baloch honour. For that, she was made an example. Her body wasn’t just discarded; it was used. Her death was filmed, shared, and glorified as a symbol of “cultural purity.” That is psychological warfare. That is propaganda dressed as tradition.
I ask the world: where are those Western voices who echo every tweet from a separatist sympathizer? Where are the so-called feminists of the Baloch cause, those who raise slogans in London and Geneva, claiming to be champions of Baloch women’s freedom? Why are they silent now, when a Baloch woman has been brutally murdered by their own so-called “liberators”?
The irony could not be darker. The BLA and similar groups pose as defenders of rights, even taking their narratives to international human rights platforms. But back home, they rule through fear, silence dissent with bullets, and weaponize women’s bodies to preserve male militant control. This killing is not an exception—it is part of a pattern. These groups silence those who leave, those who love, and those who question. And increasingly, that includes their women.
This is not resistance—it is regression.
State sources indicate that this killing may also be linked to deeper fissures within the BLA’s ranks—rivalries, betrayals, and disputes over media control. Some reports suggest the victim had social media access or was associated with internal communications. If true, that makes this not just a murder, but a purge.
Such brutality is not new, but the attempt to cover it in the language of honor is particularly alarming. “Honor killings” are already a blight on our society. But when a terrorist group co-opts the term to justify assassinations, it becomes something worse—a hybrid weapon in an information war.
The girl in Awaran was not the first. And unless we wake up, she won’t be the last. These groups are not fighting for Baloch dignity. They are hijacking it. They are shaming our traditions, turning our cultural values into tools of terror.
The state has reportedly launched an inquiry into the murder. That is welcome. But the real fight is for truth. For narrative. For clarity. We must expose those who commit murder and call it martyrdom. We must support those who refuse to be silent, even under threat. And most importantly, we must stand with the families—especially the women—trapped between terrorists and tradition.
To the international community: stop romanticizing proxy militants as “freedom fighters.” Look at what they’re doing. Look at what they’ve become.
To my Baloch brothers and sisters: this is not our culture. This is not our Islam. And this is not our struggle.
It’s time we reclaim our voice from those who murder in our name.
