In recent years, under projects such as the Makran Coastal Development Plan”, Mahan Company—an entity affiliated with military-governmental institutions with significant influence in the Iranian regime—has confiscated thousands of hectares of land in the Dashtiari region under the pretext of projects such as banana cultivation, desalination plant construction, and airport development. The seizure of over 4,000 hectares of agricultural land in areas like Bahookalat in Dashtiari by Mahan Transport Company, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has sparked widespread concern among locals, despite ongoing protests in recent years.
Additionally, over the past few years, at least 3,000 hectares of ancestral land belonging to Baloch citizens in areas such as Sirik have been seized under labels such as “national lands” by governmental and military institutions and transferred to Mahan Airlines, which is linked to the IRGC.
In Chabahar County, various governmental agencies have confiscated vast areas of land from local residents, and in some areas, they even refuse to issue property ownership documents to ordinary citizens. In northern Balochistan, including Zahedan, the provincial capital, similar policies have been implemented by government officials. According to reports from BHRG, influential figures in the government have pressured provincial authorities to expel Baloch people from their ancestral lands and transfer these lands to non-local settlers.
Moreover, the destruction of Baloch homes in Zahedan and surrounding villages has significantly increased in recent years, indicating that all these measures are part of a coordinated and deliberate plan aimed at the systematic violation of Baloch citizens’ rights.
The confiscation of ancestral lands and the demolition of Baloch homes have been ongoing for years. However, with the implementation of new government policies to suppress and control public protests in Balochistan, as well as efforts toward national homogenization and the erasure of ethnic identities (which constitutes a clear violation of human rights), these actions have intensified significantly.
Throughout 2024, security forces such as the IRGC, along with government organizations including the Housing Foundation, the Natural Resources Department, and local municipalities, have carried out at least 36 demolitions of Baloch citizens’ homes and Sunni religious sites.
In Zahedan and Chabahar, 17 demolitions were recorded in each city. One home in Delgan was set on fire, and one Sunni mosque in Bam was demolished.
