Baloch Students Organization

The Baloch Students Organization (BSO; Urdu: بلوچ اسٹوڈنٹس آرگنائزیشن) is a designated terrorist organization that campaigns for the independence of Pakistan's Balochistan Province. The BSO was founded as a student movement on 26 November 1967 in Karachi, Pakistan.[1] The BSO politically mobilized Baloch students, agitating against the Pakistani state. The Pakistani government banned the BSO on 15 March 2013 for allegedly engaging in terrorism.[2] Another designated terrorist organization, the Balochistan Liberation Army, grew out of the BSO.[3][4] In the 1970s, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's crackdown on Baloch nationalism was met with violent resistance in Balochistan Province. Radicalized BSO militants fought for the Communist Baluch People's Liberation Front in Afghanistan against the Bhutto-allied Mujahideen from 1973 to 1977.[5] It is the largest ethnic Baloch student body in the country.

Organizational structure

BSO is divided into three factions: BSO Pajjar, BSO Mangal and BSO Azad.

BSO Mangal, led by Muhiudeen Baloch, has affiliated itself with the Balochistan National Party (BNP), which is the largest opposition party in the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan. BSO Mangal advocates on behalf of the rights of Brahui speaking Balochs in central Balochistan within the parliamentary framework of Pakistan.

BSO Pajjar, led by Ameen Baloch, has affiliated itself with the National Party (NP), the ruling party in Baluchistan. BNP wants more provincial rights and greater autonomy for Baluchistan province within the parliamentary framework of Pakistan.

Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch founded the third faction, BSO Azad, in 2001. Banuk Karima Baloch leads BSO Azad.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Alexander Maxwell (2014). The Comparative Approach to National Movements. Routledge. p. 19.
  2. ↑ "No change made in list of banned outfits". The News. 4 September 2015.
  3. ↑ Aruna Gill (2013). The Indus Intercept. HarperCollins Publishers India.
  4. ↑ Ashutosh Misra and Michael E. Clarke (2013). Pakistan's Stability Paradox: Domestic, Regional and International Dimensions. Routledge. p. 83.
  5. ↑ Mary Anne Weaver (2010). Pakistan: In the Shadow of Jihad and Afghanistan. Macmillan. p. 126-127.
  6. ↑ "This Woman Is Leading Baloch Students in Their Struggle for Independence From Pakistan". Global Voices Online.

External links

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