The release of wanted notices for nine women linked to terrorism in Balochistan has put a difficult issue back in the spotlight: the growing use of women by terrorist organisations. The Balochistan government has released the names and photographs of women associated with Gwadar, Jiwani, Turbat and Pasni, asking the public to help authorities locate them.
But the government says the notices should not be seen as an action against Baloch women. Its position is that the target is terrorism and those involved in it, not a woman’s gender, tribe or place of origin. That distinction becomes particularly important in cases where families themselves have come forward after their daughters went missing. Ruqayya’s case is one such example. After her disappearance, her father reportedly appeared at a press conference in Gwadar and publicly dissociated himself from her amid allegations linking her to terrorist activity. For such families, the fear is not simply that a loved one has gone missing, but that she could eventually be found to have been taken into or used by a terrorist organisation.
The government also points to cases where women were prevented from being drawn further into terrorism. In September 2024, Adeela Baloch, a qualified nurse from Turbat, appeared at a press conference with her parents after being arrested during a security operation. She said she had been misled and taken towards terrorist activity and credited the Balochistan government with rescuing her. Her father said the family had approached the provincial government after she disappeared and sought its help in bringing her back.
A similar case emerged in 2023 when Balochistan’s Counter Terrorism Department arrested Mahil Baloch and said it recovered a suicide jacket from her possession, alleging that she was being prepared for a terrorist attack. Provincial officials said the action had prevented a possible attack. Mahil’s family, however, disputed the allegations and denied that she had links to the BLF. The conflicting accounts also underline the importance of due process when dealing with allegations against individuals.
More recently, authorities reported the rescue of Khair-un-Nisa, a minor girl whom officials said had been held by the BLA and was being prepared for a suicide attack. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said intelligence-based action prevented the planned attack and reunited the girl with her father.
These cases form an important part of the government’s argument: its approach, it says, is not simply about arresting women. It is also about preventing women and girls from becoming victims or instruments of terrorism. Where authorities believe an individual has been drawn into terrorism, the objective is to rescue them where possible; where individuals are allegedly involved in terrorist activity, the state says they must face the law.
The government has also rejected attempts to portray the involvement of a limited number of women in the banned BLA as representative of Baloch women or Baloch society as a whole. Officials argue that terrorist organisations are exploiting the respect traditionally given to women in Baloch society and turning that cultural sensitivity into an operational advantage.
That is ultimately the message behind the nine notices: being a woman, belonging to a particular tribe or coming from a particular part of Balochistan does not place anyone above the law. At the same time, the actions of individuals accused of terrorism should not be used to label an entire community.
For the government, the task has two sides protecting women from terrorist recruitment and pursuing those who are already involved in terrorism. The women reportedly rescued before they could be used in attacks represent one side of that effort; the nine wanted notices represent the other.
