If you are identified as a Baloch and reside anywhere in this country or the world, the clock is ticking for you—your life, your dignity, your identity—all ticking away. This ticking clock is a wake-up call. Whether you decide to speak out or choose to remain silent, the clock continues to tick for all and sundry. Even if one seeks refuge in delusion to escape reality and refuses to accept the truth, the clock will not cease ticking. The choice is yours: rise and resist, or risk being forever silenced by the relentless tick of time.
With every tick of the clock, another precious life is pushed to the brink of enforced disappearances. Another innocent soul falls prey to the scourge of target killings. Another bright future is turned into a bleak future. Another mother grieves the absence of her beloved son. Another sister is bereft of her brother’s affectionate presence. Another father carries the silent pain of his missing child. Another family is plunged into unimaginable anguish and unbearable agony.
In these hard and tragic times, can we still afford to wait, hesitate, and remain neutral? When one sees their loved ones, friends, or acquaintances reduced to mere images on missing persons’ posters, what should one do? Mere wait for their safe return? Choose to remain silent? Or take a neutral stance? None of these seems like genuine choices.
The countdown has already begun for everyone—even for those who avoid taking sides and consider silence as a safe strategy. The only prudent choice is to break the chains of silence, speak out against this blatant barbarism, and resist this outright viciousness because the clock is ticking for everyone, and silence is no longer an option.
The widespread yet absurd myth that one can guarantee their safety by exercising restraint, choosing neutrality, and staying silent is a dangerous illusion. History proves otherwise. Silence and neutrality do not ensure safety—they only delay the inevitable. The worsening circumstances are like wildfires, engulfing everyone bit by bit. The flames spare no one. You are already on the watchlist.
Your identity has made you a focal point, a prime target for mistreatment. You are targeted not for what you have done but for who you are. You are hunted for the identity you carry. The million-dollar question is: Can one make their identity neutral too to escape persecution? If not, then what choice remains?
Do you know what is unbearably heavier than anything else? The guilt of doing nothing in the face of injustice when everything is at stake, and one is supposed to act while the clock is ticking—but chooses to turn a blind eye. It is silent complicity, a hidden betrayal of the conscience.
The ticking clock is a powerful reminder that time is running out. Our lives are in jeopardy. Our freedom is under threat. Our identity is at stake. It is an alarm bell to end the silence and take a stand against atrocities before it is too late.
There is no room for delay, hesitation, inaction, or silence because they strengthen the oppressor. Don’t give them the power. Your life matters, your dignity matters, and your identity matters. Time won’t wait, and neither should you.
Now is the time to lift the veil of silence. Speak out. Stand united. Organize. Resist. Demand justice. End oppression. Halt subjugation. Reclaim your rights. Preserve your freedoms. Secure your futures.
