Exposing the “Soft Face”: How the BYC Serves a Darker Master​

We are fighting a war where the enemy deliberately erases the line between ‘activist’ and ‘terrorist.’ I’ve seen the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) use this tactic for years. They parade through the streets under the banner of human rights, led by Mahrang Baloch, spinning compelling narratives about missing persons to win sympathy. But the intel files tell a very different story. Now that the evidence is out, the pretense is falling away. It’s becoming impossible to ignore that the BYC isn’t a rights group; it’s the public relations wing the ‘soft face’ of the violent Fitna-al-Hindustan network.

The connection is no longer speculation; it is a matter of record. Since early 2025, Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies have built a dossier that moves beyond allegations into hard proof. The narrative that the BYC is purely a peaceful, civil society organization is collapsing under the weight of its own operatives.

Look at Sajid Ahmed. He isn’t your typical militant hiding in a cave. This guy is highly educated holds a Master’s in Sociology from IIU Islamabad and taught at the University of Turbat. On paper, he is a model citizen. But after the CTD picked him up, his confession peeled back the mask. He was living a double life: by day, a vocal supporter of the BYC; by night, a facilitator greasing the wheels for terrorists. As DIG Aitzaz Goraya revealed, Ahmed wasn’t just a casual sympathizer; he was in constant contact with the BYC leadership while actively helping terror networks function.

Is this an anomaly? Or is it a feature?

Consider Sarfraz, an 18-year-old from Kharan. Before he was tasked with reconnoitering police patrols and polio vaccination teams for assassination, he was inducted into the BYC. He cut his teeth organizing protests and blocking roads under their banner. He was recruited by Jehanzeb, another young operative who funneled youth from the “soft” activism of the BYC into the “hard” violence of insurgency. The pattern repeats with Bezann, another 18-year-old whose personal grief over a brother’s death was weaponized to turn him into a foot soldier.

This recruitment pipeline reveals a cynical strategy. The BYC acts as a nursery. It identifies vulnerable youth aggrieved, passionate, and impressionable and grooms them. It validates their anger in public protests, only to hand them over to handlers who put guns in their hands. As the DIG CTD rightfully pointed out, while Fitna-al-Hindustan claims they do not use children, the reality on the ground is that the BYC serves as a catchment area for minors, who are eventually pushed onto the path of violence.

This complicity explains the BYC’s behavior in the aftermath of terror incidents. Remember the attack on the Jaffar Express in March 2025? Following the bloodshed, the BYC under Mahrang Baloch’s leadership attempted to forcibly take custody of the dead bodies of the terrorists from hospitals. Why? To immediately rebrand killed militants as “missing persons.” It is a sinister rebranding exercise: shield the identity of the terrorist before the state can confirm it, claim they were abducted civilians, and then use their death to fuel the next cycle of outrage.

As warned by the DG ISPR as far back as May 2025, the narrative of “enforced disappearances” has been weaponized. It acts as a smoke screen. By the time the state provides evidence that a “missing” person was actually a combatant killed in an assault on security forces, the propaganda damage is already done. The BYC provides the human rights cover fire that allows the terrorists to retreat and regroup.

So, one must ask: If the BYC is truly independent, why does every trail of facilitation seem to lead back to its doorstep? Why are its propaganda campaigns in Europe so synchronized with the strategic goals of anti-Pakistan militants? The swift mobilization of their international networks suggests external patronage, a coordinated strategy rather than organic activism.

Announcing rehab centers in Quetta and Turbat is the right move. We absolutely need to save these kids through counseling and reintegration. But treating the symptoms won’t work if we ignore the disease. We have to stop letting the BYC play both sides. They’ve enjoyed the protection of being a ‘rights group’ for too long while secretly pushing the agenda of Fitna-al-Hindustan. The files on Sajid Ahmed and young Sarfraz prove it beyond doubt. It’s time to stop the charade. They aren’t a voice for rights; they are a headhunter for terrorists. The soft image is gone, and the ugly reality of the insurgency is staring us in the face.