The Baloch, Pashtun and Sindhi nations across the world marked 14 August 2025 as ‘Black Day’, and rejecting what they call the artificial celebrations of Pakistan’s independence.
Baloch and Pashtun leaders have condemned Pakistan as a “terrorist state” and marked its independence day on 14 August as a “black day,” accusing Islamabad of decades of occupation, resource plunder, and human rights abuses.
In a statement, prominent Baloch activist Mir Yar Baloch described Pakistan as “a geopolitical liability and a hub of global terrorism, fake jihad and instability,” calling for the international community to seize its nuclear weapons and impose sweeping sanctions.
He accused Pakistan’s military of operating “as a mafia,” orchestrating and exporting terrorism across borders while illegally exploiting Balochistan’s natural wealth.
Dr Tara Chand, president of the Balochistan Congress and former Balochistan cabinet minister, said the day was “one of mourning” for the Baloch people, marking “the birth of a state founded on hatred, religious fanaticism and intolerance.” He alleged that Pakistan had forcibly annexed Balochistan, unleashed genocide against its people, and destroyed its social fabric.
On the same day, Pashtun residents in Pakistan-occupied Pashtunistan staged protests in Bajaur’s Mamund and Umaray Chowk, waving black flags against what they called oppressive military operations.
Mir Yar Baloch also extended solidarity to India on its 79th Independence Day, likening Balochistan’s struggle for freedom to India’s fight against British colonialism, and called for deeper India-Balochistan cooperation to counter “Pakistan’s vile terrorism.”
The leaders criticised the United States for targeting the Baloch Liberation Army instead of sanctioning the Pakistani military, which they accused of sheltering Osama bin Laden and supporting extremist groups.
Earlier this year, United Nations human rights experts expressed alarm at the “unrelenting” use of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, urging Pakistan to criminalise the practice, ratify the International Convention on Enforced Disappearances, and hold perpetrators accountable. They also criticised repeated internet blackouts, arbitrary detentions, and violence against peaceful protesters and human rights defenders in the province.
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