Mama Qadeer Baloch, Vice Chairman of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), passed away on Saturday in Quetta at the age of over 80 after a prolonged illness. He had been suffering from asthma, tuberculosis, and liver-related ailments and had undergone treatment in Karachi on multiple occasions.
His death marks the passing of an elderly citizen whose personal grief resonated with many families in Balochistan. Respect for his age, suffering, and loss must remain human and dignified.
Mama Qadeer had been associated with nationalist politics since his student days. Professionally, he began his career in 1974 as a bank cashier and retired from service in 2009. In later years, he founded the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, emerging as a visible figure in protests.
Missing Persons Narrative and Emerging Contradictions
While Mama Qadeer consistently demanded justice for missing persons, over time serious contradictions emerged within the narrative promoted by VBMP-linked activism. Multiple individuals whose names were repeatedly cited as “forcibly disappeared” were later found in camps or media wings of proscribed militant organizations such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
Several of these individuals subsequently appeared on militant social media platforms, where they were identified as fighters, sangat, or fidayeen, and in some cases were later declared killed during armed encounters with security forces. These developments complicated the missing persons discourse and raised legitimate questions about how militancy, voluntary involvement, and enforced disappearance were being conflated into a single political narrative.
Generational Shift and Narrative Hijacking
With the passage of time, the movement experienced a generational shift. Mama Qadeer, belonging to an older generation, lacked the tools and skills required to construct and amplify a modern digital narrative. The narrative was hijacked by Mahrang Baloch, Mama Qadeer Baloch was left behind. This vacuum was gradually filled by a new cohort, particularly educated women from colleges and universities, who re framed the discourse in sharper anti-state terms. As the militancy was losing tactical ability and needed foot soldiers.
It was during this phase that the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) emerged from earlier protest platforms. The BYC received an abrupt boost through coordinated social media amplification, mainly from Indian state owned social media accounts and fake accounts associating with the Baloch name, which resulted in disproportionate international media coverage aligned closely with its political messaging. This is where India found a new player.
One of BYC’s prominent figures, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, is a Grade-17 officer. Her political lineage is also relevant to understanding the movement’s evolution. Her father, Mir Ghaffar Langov, was actively involved in Baloch separatist movements and served as a key commander within the BLA. He was killed in an internal dispute—an incident publicly acknowledged by Mama Qadeer himself in a recorded video statement.
Peaceful Protest vs Political Instrumentalization
The right to peaceful protest is constitutionally protected and continues to be respected by the state. Mama Qadeer chose protest as an expression of personal anguish, a choice that many families empathized with. However, the hijacking of such symbols by groups with separatist or extremist linkages is deeply problematic.
When personal grief is repeatedly invoked to advance divisive political agendas, it risks transforming humanitarian concerns into tools of polarization. The portrayal of Mama Qadeer as a singular symbol of “systematic oppression” oversimplifies a complex legal and security environment in which many missing persons cases intersect with terrorism, insurgency, and cross-border movement.
The Forgotten Victims: Baloch Civilians
Any discussion around missing persons must also acknowledge a painful reality: Baloch civilians themselves have suffered the most from years of terrorist violence. Teachers, tribal elders, labourers, development workers, and ordinary citizens have been targeted and killed, leaving deep scars within Baloch society.
This violence has disrupted education, stalled development, and instilled fear across communities. These victims rarely receive comparable attention in international narratives, despite bearing the brunt of prolonged instability.
Courts, Commissions, and Sustainable Justice
Pakistan’s system for resolving grievances related to missing persons is rooted in constitutional mechanisms—courts, parliamentary oversight, and investigative commissions. While imperfect, sustainable justice can only be achieved through lawful processes rather than narrative escalation or internationalisation driven by foreign proxies.
Turning individual cases into sweeping political claims delays reconciliation and complicates genuine resolution for affected families. Constructive engagement within existing legal and administrative frameworks remains the only viable path forward.
The most meaningful way to honour individuals like Mama Qadeer Baloch is by supporting reintegration, development, social stability, and dialogue—so future generations of Baloch families are spared the suffering caused by terrorism and prolonged instability.
His passing should mark a moment of reflection, not escalation.
