In a ruling poised to further inflame tensions in Pakistan, an anti-terrorism court has sentenced prominent civil rights activist Mahrang Baloch and her associate, Sibghatullah, to life in prison. The conviction follows their alleged involvement in the death of a paramilitary soldier during a protest in July 2024. The Quetta-based court found both leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) guilty of murder and terrorism-related offenses. According to the prosecution, Mahrang Baloch incited protesters to attack paramilitary personnel deployed to maintain public order in the port city of Gwadar. The verdict, announced on Monday, was reportedly based on witness testimony and medical evidence, according to authorities. Balochistan provincial authorities have defended the legitimacy of the ruling. The Chief Minister of the province, Sarfaraz Bugti, stated that justice has been served for the deceased soldier, Sepoy Shabbir Baloch: “Those who take the law into their own hands under the guise of peaceful protest, promote violence, and target state officials are, in fact, facilitators of terrorism.”
The verdict has sparked immediate outrage among human rights defenders and supporters of the BYC, who have long campaigned against “enforced disappearances” and human rights violations in the southwestern province of Balochistan, the site of a decades-long separatist insurgency. The defendants chose to boycott the final stages of the trial—during which they were required to appear via video link from prison—denouncing the proceedings as a “mock trial.” Lala Abdul Baloch, a BYC organizer, warned that this sentence risks pushing Baloch youth further toward armed resistance, asserting that “when you shut access to the corridors of justice, more people will rise up against the state.” The group has already called for a province-wide strike. Baloch’s defense attorney, Israr Jattak, confirmed plans to file a formal appeal with the Balochistan High Court, describing the legal battle as far from over. Mahrang Baloch, who has been detained since March 2025, had already become a focal point for public mobilization against state security policies. Her imprisonment and subsequent sentencing mark a critical turning point in the relationship between the Baloch minority and Pakistan’s central institutions. Her conviction reflects the long-standing, difficult relationship that has separated the Baloch population from the Pakistani state for decades. Balochistan, the country’s largest but least developed province, has long been the theater of an asymmetric conflict driven by resource exploitation. Despite the region’s vast wealth in gas and minerals, the local population claims they receive no economic benefit, arguing that these resources are extracted solely for the advantage of the central government and foreign investors—often linked to Chinese infrastructure projects, such as the port of Gwadar. A central theme of the protests led by activists like Mahrang Baloch is the issue of enforced disappearances. Over the years, thousands of young Baloch have vanished after being apprehended by security forces, fostering a climate of fear and resentment that fuels separatist sentiment.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated instance of the suppression of dissent. With his characteristically forthright and critical oratorical style toward the Pakistani military establishment and security services, Manzoor Pashteen has also faced numerous arrests and legal pressures against both himself and other members of the movement. Pashteen is a prominent political and civil activist, and the founder and public face of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM). Established in 2018 to defend the human rights of Pashtuns in Pakistan, the movement acts as the voice for a significant portion of the Pashtun community, which feels marginalized within the country’s political and security structures. The group’s primary focus includes addressing issues such as enforced disappearances, protesting the Pakistani government’s security policies in Pashtun-majority regions, clearing landmines left in conflict zones, and advocating for the reduction of military checkpoints in tribal areas. Many Baloch citizens lament profound political marginalization and perceive state control as a form of occupation. Islamabad’s tendency to characterize every call for autonomy or social protest as a terrorist threat or foreign conspiracy has radicalized a large segment of the civilian population, making constructive dialogue nearly impossible.
International observers fear that this ruling, rather than restoring order, may exacerbate the local population’s sense of alienation, further shrinking the space for peaceful dissent and political dialogue in Balochistan.
