Hyrbyair Marri

Hyrbyair Marri (Balochi: حیربیار مری) (born 1968) is an activist from Balochistan, Pakistan and president of the Free Balochistan Movement.^[1]

Hyrbyair Marri
Personal details
Born	Hyrbyair Marri (1968-01-13) January 13, 1968 (age 56) Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan
Relations	Khair Bakhsh Marri (father) Changez Marri (brother) Balach Marri (brother) Ghazan Marri (brother) Mehran Baluch (brother) Hamza Marri (brother)
Alma mater	Moscow State University

He is the fifth son of the Baloch nationalist leader Khair Bakhsh Marri. As of 2017, he resides in London.^[2]

Early life

Hyrbyair was born in Quetta as the fifth son of Khair Bakhsh Marri, the sardar of the Marri tribe. Hyrbyair's elder brothers are Changez Marri, Balach Marri, Ghazan Marri and Hamza Marri; his younger brother is Mehran Baluch. In 1980 he came to the United Kingdom with his family, before they moved to Afghanistan in 1981 during General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's regime.^[3] He completed his early education in Quetta and Kabul before moving to Moscow for higher education at the Moscow State University.

Political activities and asylum

Marri returned to Balochistan in 1992. His father was too old to start a new political struggle so his brother Balach Marri took his father's place. In 1997, Hyrbyair was elected to the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan and was appointed Communion Minister of the province.^{[citation needed]} In 2000, Balochistan Police arrested and charged his father with the murder of Balochistan High Court justice Nawaz Marri; Hyrbyair left Balochistan for Britain at this time.^[4][5]

The Government of Pakistan alleges that Marri is the leader of the Balochistan Liberation Army, which is designated a terrorist organization by Pakistan,^[6] the United Kingdom^[7] and the United States,^[8][9] but he was tried and acquitted of terrorism charges by a British court in 2009.^[10] The British government granted his request for political asylum in 2011.^[5]

References

1. Baloch, Jamal (23 July 2016). "Hyrbyair Marri launches Free Balochistan Movement". The Sunday Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016.
2. Khan, Amir (1 October 2017). "Pakistan to move Interpol for arrest of Hyrbyair, Brahumdagh". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017.
3. Khan, M Ilyas (11 June 2014). "Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri dies". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017.
4. Conflict in Balochistan: Report of HRC Fact-Finding Missions, December 2005-January 2006 (PDF) (Report). Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. August 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 January 2024.
5. Shah, Murtaza Ali (30 January 2011). "Hyrbyair Marri wins political asylum case". The News International. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018.
6. "List of banned organisations in Pakistan". The Express Tribune. 24 October 2012. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012.
7. "Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations". Home Office. gov.uk (Policy paper). 26 April 2024. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) - Proscribed July 2006
8. "Executive Order 13224". Bureau of Counterterrorism. United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
9. Yousaf, Kamran (2 July 2019). "US declares Balochistan Liberation Army a terrorist group". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019.
10. Bennett-Jones, Owen (16 January 2015). "Will the UK and Pakistan co-operate on security interests?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016.

Further reading

• Naqvi, Sadiq (2 October 2015). "Interview: Baloch separatist leader Hyrbyair Marri on rights violations by Pakistani army". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015.