Punjab University Student Exposes BLA’s Recruitment Tactics, Warns Baloch Youth

Talat Aziz, a student from Punjab University who recently surrendered to authorities after joining the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), has shared insights into the organization’s recruitment strategies. He revealed that his connection with certain Baloch students at the university led him to be influenced by the BLA, eventually persuading him to consider taking up arms.

Aziz described how he was lured by promises of “starting a new life in the mountains” for what the BLA promoted as the “independence of Balochistan.” Reflecting on his experience, Aziz urged his fellow Baloch youth not to be swayed by narratives surrounding missing persons or the BLA’s false promises of freedom, warning that these claims are part of a strategy to manipulate and endanger young lives.

He accused certain Baloch student councils at Punjab University of playing a major role in spreading anti-state sentiments and influencing students to join the BLA. “I am a Pakistani, and Balochistan is a beautiful province of Pakistan,” he stated, expressing pride in his national identity. Aziz also highlighted that BLA operatives attempt to incite hostility toward Punjabis as part of their radicalization efforts.

He cited an instance of recognizing a young man in the mountains whom he had seen in a protest photo organized by the Baloch Solidarity Committee, indicating how protest activities are used as a recruitment platform.

This revelation comes shortly after the arrest of Adila Baloch, a qualified nurse detained in Turbat on September 25 for allegedly planning a suicide attack. Speaking to the media, Adila, who was managing a World Health Organization project, expressed remorse over her involvement and claimed that terrorists manipulated and blackmailed Baloch women into such roles.

Both cases underscore the tactics used by banned groups like the BLA to recruit and radicalize young people, exploiting narratives and grievances to advance their agenda.