The Baloch National Movement is a

Baloch nationalist __NOTOC__ Baloch nationalism ( Baloch: راج دۏستی بلۏچی) asserts that the Baloch people, an ethnic group native to Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan are a distinct nation, and that their ethnicity overrides religious loyalty. The origins o ...

political organization which was led by Ghulam Mohammed Baloch, who served as the organizations's president before his murder in April 2009.

History

In 1987, the educated Baloch youth created Baloch National Youth Movement, which aimed at raising awareness about

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

's independence. Its leader Fida Ahmed was killed in 1988, allegedly on the orders of Pakistan military. After his murder, the most senior leaders of the group— Dr Malik (incumbent

Chief Minister of Balochistan The Chief Minister of Balochistan ( ur, وزیر اعلیٰ بلوچستان) is the head of government of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The chief minister leads the legislative branch of the provincial government, and is elected by the ...

and Dr Hai Baloch) decided to take part in Pakistan's parliamentary politics. They changed the party's name to Balochistan National Movement. The party soon became the strongest in

and won several seats in the

Balochistan Assembly The Provincial Assembly of Balochistan is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, and is located in Quetta, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

. The party leaders also changed their demand from Balochistan's independence to provincial autonomy within Pakistan. After their first tenure in government, reports of corruption and incompetence within started emerging in the media and inside circles. However, their students’ wing, the

Baloch Students Organization The Baloch Students Organization (BSO; ur, ) is a student organisation that campaigns for the students of Pakistan's Balochistan Province. It was founded as a student movement on 26 November 1967 in Karachi and remains the largest ethnic Baloc ...

, led by Ghulam Mohammad Baloch, was still demanding independence from Pakistan. After 1992, Ghulam Mohammed Baloch completed his time in the BSO and joined the Balochistan National Movement. He created a pressure group within the party to end participation in the “corrupt” parliamentary politics and revert to the basic mission of the party which was to mobilize the Baloch people for a movement for an independent Balochistan. His influence grew fast within the party and he became the Senior Vice President. In 2004, his group succeeded in including the demand of independence in the party's manifesto and renamed the party as the Baloch National Movement. Dr Malik Baloch and his like-minded leaders joined another party and renamed their group as the National Party, removing the word Balochistan from the name. Ghulam Mohammad Baloch led the Baloch National Movement till 2009 when he was murdered by Pakistan military. During his six years’ tenure as president of the party, he made the BNM as the biggest mass party in Balochistan and people started raising the slogan of Balochistan's freedom once again. Ghulam Mohammed had such respect among Baloch separatist militants that he was able to persuade them to release

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...

official

John Solecki John Solecki was the head of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in the Pakistani city of Quetta. Solecki had been working in Balochistan to help the Afghan refugees, the communities hosting them and the local people aff ...

. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

and the US embassy in Pakistan condemned his murder and appreciated him for his efforts for humanitarian causes. Currently, the party is being led by Khalil Baloch. Hundreds of BNM's workers have been either killed or abducted by Pakistan military. Zrumbesh is part of a multi language media network. Working under Zrumbesh Broadcasting corporation which is an autonomous body under Baloch National Movement (BNM).
Official Website of Zrumbesh Radio

References

{{Pakistan separatist movements Baloch nationalist organizations Balochistan Nationalist organizations