How to become a part of the Mahil Baloch extremist organization that carried out a suicide attack on the FC camp in Balochistan?
According to Mahil Baloch's family, no one was ever forced to disappear in his family and no mutilated body was ever found.
Riaz Sohail
Post, BBC Urdu, Karachi
On August 23, when Hameed Baloch's daughter left home after her university vacation was over, nothing was out of the ordinary. Hameed Baloch is a resident of Sarbandar, 25 km from Gwadar district of Balochistan.
Mahil Baloch, 23, an LLB (law) student at Turbat University, contacted the family on her own in the evening once again and told them that her phone was not working and that she would contact her again.
It was Friday and Hameed Baloch told the BBC that this was the last contact his daughter Mahil had with her family.
Exactly three days later, on the morning of August 26, an explosion occurred after a vehicle rammed the gate of a security forces camp in Bela, about seven hours away.
On August 26, on the occasion of the 18th birth anniversary of Nawab Akbar Bugti, the popular political leader of Balochistan, at least 39 people were killed in operations by the banned BLA in ten districts, dubbed 'Operation Hero', while the Pakistan Army According to the Public Relations Department of ISPR, 21 militants and 14 security personnel were killed during the retaliatory action.
One of these major operations took place in Bela where, according to the BLA itself, one of the two suicide bombers was Mahil Baloch. According to a statement issued by the banned extremist organization, Operation Heroof started when Mahil Baloch's car hit.
Balochistan Police has confirmed that a woman was also involved in the suicide attack on the FC camp in Bela. SSP Captain Naveed Alam said that five militants who attacked the FC camp were killed, including three suicide bombers, including a woman named Mahil.
Mahil's father, Hameed Baloch, was contacted by the authorities and told that Mahil had committed suicide at the camp in Bela, according to him, it was a 'surprise' for him.
While Jaind Baloch, the spokesman of the banned BLA, claimed that 'Mahal Baloch formally joined the organization in 2022, after which he became a part of the Majeed Brigade in 2023 and during this time he also received training.'
It should be noted that earlier two female suicide bombers have been used in two different violent acts of the banned BLA and Mahil Baloch was the third female suicide bomber of the same organization.
But who was Mahal Baloch? How did they become part of a banned extremist organization?
BBC spoke to Mahil's father Hameed Baloch, a resident of Sarbandar, and some of his friends and tried to find answers to these questions.
Who was Mahil Baloch?
Mahil Baloch did her FA from Degree College Gwadar and then enrolled in LLB at Turbat University where she was a final semester student. He belonged to a political family of Godar.
His father, whose full name is Kehda Hameed Esa, has served as chairman of the Sarbandar Union Council for several terms, while Mahil's uncle has served twice as district nazim and chairman of Godar. One of Mahil's uncles is also a government official.
Said Hameed and his elder brother belong to the National Party. His father joined the National Awami Party and was counted among the disciples of Mir Ghos Bakhsh Bizenjo.
"She was studying law and was in her eighth semester at that time," Mahil's father told the BBC.
Said Hameed has six children of which Mahil was the fifth child.
He said that "Mahal was doing an internship for the practice of law in Quetta during the summer holidays where her cousins were also present."
Mahil Baloch's Instagram content includes 'The Art of War', a translation of Cuba's Fidel Castro's book 'History will acquit me', Maxim Gorky's world-famous novel 'Mother' and books by Franz Kafka among others. References and images are available.
Mahil's father Hameed says that he himself is surprised to see this because "Balochi literature is read at home, the rest were only English textbooks." He does not know where Mahil read this.
Mahil Baloch belonged to a political family of Godar
"We did not instruct him to do this."
Mahil Baloch's family background has been political, but his family and friends claim that he himself has never participated in political activities.
A fellow student of hers told the BBC on condition of anonymity that during the last four years of their acquaintance, Mahil did not participate in any discussions or debates. "Nor did she ever indicate that she wanted to be involved in any violent act."
Another classmate of Mahil also spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, saying, "She was apparently not interested in politics and never talked about the armed struggle."
He claims that he mostly saw Mahil engaged in studies. "Once we talked about who would practice and prepare for commission, Mahal was more interested in advocacy."
According to Mahil Baloch's family, no one was ever forcibly disappeared in his family and no mutilated body was ever found.
Then why did Mahil do this? The answer to this question is not clear.
In response to a question, Mahil's father claimed that neither he nor any of the family knew anything about 'the people she used to hang out with'.
"There was never a time when she was out of touch for a long time or moved away."
Mahil Baloch was the third woman used as a suicide bomber by the outlawed BLA.
However, in response to a question from the BBC, Jaind Baloch, the spokesman of the banned BLA, claimed that 'Mahal Baloch formally joined the organization in 2022, after which he became a part of the Majeed Brigade in 2023. He also took training.'
In response to another question, Jayand Baloch claimed that Mahil was driving alone at the time of the suicide attack.
A friend of Mahil said on condition of anonymity that he had taken admission in LLB at Turbat University in 2021 and started his regular classes on February 21 of the same year.
Mahil's father Kahida Hameed says, "Obviously it hurts, but we did not instruct him to do this."
Third female suicide bomber
Mahil Baloch was the third woman used as a suicide bomber by the outlawed BLA.
Earlier in April 2022, a woman named Shari Baloch committed suicide outside the Confucius Center in Karachi University in which four people, including three Chinese teachers, were killed.
Shari Baloch alias Barmish belonged to an educated family. She was a mother of two children and her husband was a doctor by profession. He belonged to Nazarabad area of Turbat district.
A suicide bomber on a convoy of security forces in Turbat in June 2023 was identified as Samia Qalandrani Baloch. According to the banned party BLA, Samia Baloch was the fiancee of Rehan Baloch and the daughter-in-law of Aslam Baloch, the founder leader of Majeed Brigade.
In August 2018, Rehan Baloch committed a suicide attack on Chinese engineers and workers near Dalbandin, the headquarters of Chagai district in Balochistan.
Is there any other woman named Mahil Baloch about whom wrong information is spreading on social media?
Mahil Baloch who was arrested in February 2023 and Mahil Baloch who committed suicide in Bela are two different women.
When the identity and name of the suicide bomber in Bela came out, a controversy arose on social media, in which pictures of a woman who had nothing to do with the recent attack emerged.
The reason for this conflict is the same name. It should be noted that the name of a woman arrested in Quetta on February 2023 was Mahil Baloch, about whom Balochistan CTD claimed at that time that Mahil Baloch was arrested near a park in Satellite Town area. And a suicide jacket was also recovered from them.
However, the family of Mahil Baloch, a woman arrested on charges of terrorism from Quetta, said that she has no connection with the banned militant organization Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and claims that a suicide jacket was recovered from her. There is no truth either.
The CTD claimed that Mahil Baloch belonged to the banned Baloch Liberation Front, but the banned BLA claimed that Mahil, who attacked the Bela camp, was a member of their Majeed Brigade, nicknamed Zalan Kurd. was
In such a situation, after the recent attack, Mahil, who was arrested from Quetta last year, was declared as the bomber on social media and her pictures were uploaded, however, Mahil, who belongs to Gomazi area of Kech district of Balochistan, was released on bail.
She has two daughters and is the sister-in-law of Baloch Human Rights Council Chairperson Bibi Gul Baloch.
Related Topics
#Women #Balochistan #Pakistan
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