New Delhi: The life sentence given to human rights activist Mahrang Baloch in Pakistan on Monday has led civil society members, politicians and journalists to lament ‘the death of judiciary’ in the country. They say, “The hard state” is weakening the foundations of Pakistan.
“This is the funeral of the constitution, law, justice, and democracy—may it depart with great fanfare,” Akhtar Mengal, the president of Balochistan National Party, wrote on X.
Mahrang is the public face of a movement demanding accountability for alleged forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations in Balochistan.
“In the past two weeks, Gilgit-Baltistan elections were rigged, JAAC in Kashmir was declared a banned organization, PTI’s leaders in Kot Lakhpat were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Now, Mahrang Baloch has been handed a life sentence. “Hard state” is weakening the foundations of Pakistan,” Pakistani activist and politician Ammar Ali Jan added on X.
Trial in secrecy
Thirty-two-year-old Mahrang Baloch’s activism made her among TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people. She was also nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. Her father, Abdul Gaffar Langove, a Baloch activist, was allegedly killed by Pakistani forces in 2024.
Her organisation, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), is carrying out long marches, sit-ins and demonstrations, drawing thousands of participants, particularly relatives of missing persons in Balochistan. Authorities, however, have repeatedly accused the organisation of maintaining links with separatist militants. The group has consistently denied such allegations.
The anti-terrorism court in Quetta handed down the sentence to Mahrang Baloch, and activist Sibghatullah Shah. Both were tried through a video link from Quetta district jail. Mahrang Baloch has been in prison for more than a year.
State investigators traced the case against Mahrang to March 2025, when militants attacked the Jaffar Express train, killing at least 26 people, Hum News reported.
She was arrested on 22 March 2025, under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance. It was days after protests erupted across Balochistan following a police crackdown on demonstrators in Quetta. The protests were organised around allegations of human rights violations committed against ethnic groups of Balochistan.
According to local reports, prosecutors also claimed that a police officer, Shabbir, died after being struck by a stone during a BYC-led protest in Gwadar. The state held Mahrang Baloch and her co-accused legally responsible for the death and charged them under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism laws.
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‘Lopsided and prejudiced’
Human Rights Commission Pakistan and Aurat March also condemned the sentencing.
“Regrettably, the state has continued its policy of dealing with advocacy for fundamental rights in the same way as it deals with militancy, leading to executive and judicial decisions that are lopsided and prejudiced,” HRCP wrote on X.
Activists and civil society members rallied behind Mahrang.
Jamil Baloch, a political activist, described the proceedings as a “faceless trial” conducted behind prison walls and lacking transparency.
“The accused were denied the fundamental right to a fair, open defence,” he wrote in a post on Instagram, calling the verdict a form of “political vengeance”.
“This sentencing exposes a terrifying pattern of the Pakistani state: the criminalization of dissent. When bullets, threats, and enforced disappearances fail to break the resolve of human rights defenders, the state resorts to “judicial terrorism.” They use draconian antiterrorism laws to lock away peaceful activists, branding them as enemies of the state,” he added.
“Mahrang Baloch and Sibgatullah sb getting life imprisonment is not only harsh but unfortunate. It sends out a clear message to other activists across Pakistan that peaceful activism is not tolerated,” former Dawn journalist Sahar Baloch wrote on X.
Pro-state politicians, however, are celebrating and have come under the scanner.
For former Pakistan caretaker PM Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, “sentencing in the Gwadar Raji Muchi case is not a victory of the state over dissent; rather a victory of accountability over impunity.”
“Those who orchestrate violence, masquerading as peaceful activists cannot shield further behind civil society. The outcome of their gory action is surfaced in judicial process. Pakistan will protect all its citizenry with or without uniform,” he wrote on X.
Political scientist Ayesha Siddiqa clapped back.
“Wish a day comes when there is accountability for criminals and thieves like Kakar who have benefited tremendously from boosting violence in Baluchistan,” she added on X.
The Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement put out a statement in Mahrang’s support.
“This reality has confronted us with its full gravity: Pakistan’s justice system is the most critical aspect of the colonial state structure, historically used to crush the political resistance of subjugated nations,” the statement on X read.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)