Since 2000, I have witnessed many freedom fighters in the Baloch liberation movement. Throughout my life, I have met and become acquainted with many leaders and activists. I have also seen close personal friends take part in this struggle. I have read about the lives of hundreds of freedom fighters in books, people who fought bravely and lived like lions. I have also studied the history of various religions, in which there have been individuals whose character and role were truly unique for their time.
However, a few individuals have personally had a profound impact on me. Among them are Hazrat Umar (RA) and Imam Hussain (RA), whose character, actions, and approach to governance and leadership in the Islamic world have deeply inspired me. Likewise, I have also been inspired by the character of George Washington, who set aside his personal interests and devoted himself to thinking about the future of his country.
Correspondingly, I have had the opportunity to meet Dil Jan Baloch, Saeed Baloch, Hakeem Sasoli, Shah Noor, and Hameed Shaheen. Their character, simplicity, love for humanity, compassion for others, commitment to their cause, sacrifices, and genuine contributions to the movement have deeply inspired me. In my view, they are the true heroes of the movement.
Dil Jan Baloch was a practical example of honesty, clarity, and transparency. It is said that he strongly despised corruption and nepotism. Whenever party funds were entrusted to him, he accounted for every single penny and lived a simple life. During a difficult period for the movement, when several senior commanders had surrendered their weapons to the Pakistani military, he chose to work in the Gulf countries and continued supporting other party members and activists in Balochistan from there.
It is said that their family wanted to send them to Singapore, and many friends also urged them to move to Europe, but they refused. The reason for this refusal was their deep love for their homeland and their loyalty to the martyrs.
Dil Jan said, “My friends were martyred before my very eyes while fighting the occupying state for freedom. How could I ever turn away from their footsteps?”
The loyalty of his friends and his love for the martyrs had consumed him so deeply that he even named his son after the martyr Abid. Martyr Dil Jan was passionately devoted to his homeland and deeply in love with his native land. That is why he returned from the Gulf to the mountains of Balochistan and began his struggle against the enemy.
It is also said that he believed in zero tolerance when it came to corruption. He would always emphasize to friends who were in contact with him that activists and members should be prevented from engaging in corruption. In his view, if commanders and soldiers in every camp were given the authority to collect donations without accountability or transparency, they could gradually turn into robbers and major thieves.
In such a situation, it would become difficult to distinguish between an ideological freedom fighter and an ordinary criminal, because merely holding a gun does not make someone a freedom fighter. It is their ideological commitment, honesty, and sincerity that truly define them as one.
If a person who takes up arms is devoid of the ideals of freedom, honesty, and humanitarianism, then they become nothing more than a robber disguised as a freedom fighter and such a person can be even more dangerous than an ordinary thief.
I say this with complete sincerity: Dil Jan, who was martyred in Panjgur, is, in my view, the Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) and the George Washington of Balochistan. In terms of character, honesty, and impartiality, he surpassed, in my eyes, thousands of other well-known revolutionaries.
If our leadership and activists follow the character and path of Dil Jan Baloch, Saeed Baloch, and Shah Noor, who were martyred in Panjgur, Balochistan, as well as Hakeem Sasoli martyred in Mashkay and Hameed Shaheen martyred in Mastung, then the Baloch movement can succeed, and we can nurture true sons and daughters of the homeland.
However, if the movement continues along a path where the struggle takes the form of a predatory or self-interested insurgency, it may enter a phase of plunder rather than remain a genuine struggle for freedom.
If we want to transform this struggle from a self-serving insurgency into a true movement for freedom, then we must follow the character, actions, and principles of our true heroes.
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