2025 Balochistan protests

A series of protests and organized shutdowns have been taking place in the Pakistani province of Balochistan beginning on 20 March 2025, some eight days after the Jaffar Express hijacking. Initial protests, organized by Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), began in Quetta in response to police crackdowns against Baloch residents gathering at the Quetta Civil Hospital in hopes of identifying the bodies of loved ones who may have been killed in the hijacking incident; several participants stole some of the bodies before police retrieved some of them back and began arresting organizers behind the protests. On 21 March, police began firing at the thousands of protesters gathered at Quetta demonstrating due to demands to release Baloch individuals, killing three people and injuring several others. Authorities arrested BYC chief and Baloch human rights activist Mahrang Baloch and other activists, sparking protests and shutdowns throughout the region in response. Protests had additionally spread to the Sindhi city of Karachi and at multiple European nations as organized by the Baloch National Movement and the Baloch diaspora, although the former protests were quickly suppressed by authorities.