Latest news with #DrMahrangBaloch
Arab News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Family of detained Baloch rights activist moves Supreme Court against her arrest
ISLAMABAD: The family of a detained Pakistani Baloch rights activists, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, filed a petition in Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking to overturn a provincial court ruling that upheld her arrest under public order laws, according to a local media report. Baloch, a physician and a civil society activists, has been held at Quetta's Hudda District Jail since March 22 after she participated in protests following a separatist militant attack on a passenger train in Balochistan. She was arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law, a move her supporters described as part of a broader crackdown on nonviolent dissent in the restive province. The petition, filed by her sister, argues that the detention is arbitrary and aimed at silencing peaceful activism. 'Nadia Baloch, the sister of Dr. Mahrang Baloch, urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to set aside the April 15 order of the Balochistan High Court that rejected the plea against her detention under the Maintenance of Public Order,' the English-language newspaper Dawn quoted from the petition. The detained activist, who leads the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, also published a letter from prison in the US-based Time magazine this week, in which she asserted that 'speaking up for justice is not a crime.' Pakistani authorities have accused Baloch of promoting the narrative of separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in public. However, her letter in the American magazine maintained the officials had not provided any evidence of her links with BLA or any other militant group while criticizing the authorities for blurring the line between militancy and peaceful protest. Earlier this year, the Balochistan High Court dismissed Baloch's initial challenge to her detention, advising her to seek administrative remedies instead of judicial relief. Her sister's petition has now asked the apex court to suspend that ruling and review whether constitutional protections such as habeas corpus were ignored in the previous judicial decision. The Supreme Court has yet to announce when it will take up the case for hearing.
Arab News
29-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
International rights bodies write joint letter to Pakistani PM calling for releases of Baloch activists
ISLAMABAD: Amnesty International along with four other human rights organizations on Wednesday wrote to the Pakistani prime minister, calling for an end to the 'harassment and arbitrary detention' of Baloch human rights defenders (HRDs) exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, particularly in Balochistan province. The letter comes in the wake of Dr. Mahrang Baloch, one of the leading campaigners for the Baloch minority and the leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), and a number of other activists, being arrested in March on charges of terrorism, sedition and murder. Security forces are battling a growing insurgency in Balochistan, an impoverished province that borders Afghanistan and Iran. Rights groups say the violence has been countered with a severe crackdown that has swept up innocent people. Authorities deny heavy handedness. 'All five organizations — Amnesty International, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Front Line Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights, World Organization Against Torture — appeal to Pakistan's Prime Minister to release Baloch human rights defenders and end the crackdown on dissent in line with Pakistan's international human rights obligations,' Amnesty Internation said on X, sharing a copy of the joint letter. The joint letter called on the government to take the following steps: Immediately and unconditionally release all Baloch HRDs and their family members 'arbitrarily detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights in line with the right to liberty and safety'; drop all charges against them; pending their release, ensure the safety of HRDs and family members, including by sharing accurate information about their whereabouts, providing effective access to family members, legal counsel and medical treatment; conduct a thorough, impartial, effective and transparent investigation into the allegations of torture and mistreatment by Pakistani authorities of Baloch HRDs under detention; end the crackdown against HRDs, journalists, protesters and dissidents by ensuring their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are fully protected; cease all forms of reprisals against family members of HRDs; and conduct an 'effective, prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the unlawful use of force' against protesters including Dr. Baloch on March 21 in Quetta and bring those suspected of responsibility to justice through fair trials. Activists say in the crackdown against militancy in Balochistan, authorities have harassed and even carried out extrajudicial killings of Baloch civilians. Pakistani authorities reject the 'baseless allegations.' A dozen UN experts called on Pakistan in March to immediately release Baloch rights defenders, including Dr. Baloch, and to end the repression of their peaceful protests. UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders Mary Lawlor said she was 'disturbed by reports of further mistreatment in prison.' Balochistan is the site of a long-running separatist movement, with insurgent groups accusing the state of unfairly exploiting Balochistan's rich gas and mineral resources. The federal and provincial governments deny this, saying they are spending billions of rupees on the uplift of the province's people.
