The Sentencing of Dr. Mahrang Baloch is a Devastating Blow to Women-Led Peace Movements in Pakistan
Last week, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court in Balochistan sentenced human rights activists Dr. Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahjee to life imprisonment on charges of terrorism, sedition, and murder, focusing on alleged provocative speech at one of their protests. The charges follow allegations of prior harassment and arrests of the activists, adding to what human rights organizations recognize as a pattern of repression and political persecution becoming widespread in Pakistan now.
The charges, trial, and its outcome are devastating for human rights and women-led peace movements in Pakistan. It silences peacebuilders, can drive fear and resentment in the populace, increases the lkelihood of further violence and closes avenues for peaceful political engagement that have the potential to improve state-citizen trust.
What is Happening in Balochistan?
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by land area and its most resource-rich, yet it remains the most underdeveloped. For decades, the region has experienced significant volatility after years of economic exploitation, suppression of dissent, and limited avenues of justice offered by the Pakistani state. The government’s counter-terror measures appear unsuccessful in curbing violence by militant groups, who have killed many law enforcement officers and civilians alike. UN notes that human rights defenders and civil society have been indiscriminately targeted in the response.
Following the 2006 assassination of Baloch political leader Akbar Bugti in a military operation, violence escalated in the province with rising attacks by militant groups, extensive enforced disappearances, and human rights abuses. Civil society appears to bear the brunt of the aftermath, with UN experts noting that, “Pakistan appears to conflate legitimate human and minority rights advocacy and public demonstrations with terrorism, threatening freedoms of expression, assembly, and association.”
Amnesty International has specifically criticized the misuse of the Anti-Terrorism Act, noting that the law is systematically weaponized to silence critical voices and suppress internal dissent, violating international human rights standards by granting expansive authority to detain and ban individuals simply for exercising their rights and without fair trial protections.
The Pakistan government established the Commission on the Inquiry of Enforced Disappearances in 2011 to investigate cases, and asserts that many of the disappeared are no longer in the country or have joined separatist movements.
Who is Dr. Mahrang Baloch, and What is the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC)?
Dr. Baloch, a physician-turned-activist, is one of the founders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). Considered among the largest indigenous, peaceful, women-led movements in Pakistan and across South Asia, BYC has used protest and political engagement to raise grievances and combat injustice, including organizing Pakistan’s largest women-led long march in 2023. Dr. Baloch was compelled to this work after her father, a political activist, was forcibly disappeared when she was only 16 years old and later found dead. There are generations of such women who are searching for missing men and have mobilized alongside Dr. Baloch to demand justice.
Her peacebuilding and human rights work has been recognized internationally, as she was nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize and part of BBC’s 100 Women 2024. That same year, she was also recognized as TIME’s 100 Emerging Leaders, but was barred by Pakistani authorities from leaving the country to attend the prize ceremony without any reason.
There could be many reasons for peaceful movements like the BYC being treated as a threat; mass mobilization often represents dissatisfaction with state performance and can shed light on corruption or failure of militarized responses to political issues. States can also view them as potential sources of political instability rather than mechanisms of democratic accountability. Dr. Baloch’s sentencing also represents rising concern about Pakistan’s judicial system, given the 27th amendment passed in 2025, which experts assert significantly undermined judicial independence.
Setting a Dangerous Precedent
Pakistan’s constitution guarantees the right to a fair trial and the right to peaceful assembly. According to legal and human rights experts, Dr. Baloch’s closed-door trial was riddled with legal discrepancies after a lengthy period of arbitrary detention without due process. The trial occurred in her absence, with a key eyewitness withheld, and without her chosen legal counsel. She has been kept in solitary confinement and reports inhumane treatment in prison. Multiple human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Frontline Defenders, have called for the activists’ release. Prior to her current sentencing, Dr. Baloch faced arrests, vicious harassment, threats, and even abduction. And sadly, she is not alone, as women human rights defenders throughout the country face such backlash—Sammi Deen Baloch’s home was recently raided without a warrant because of her peacebuilding work.
Dr. Baloch’s activism provides a non-violent, democratic pathway to justice and peace in Balochistan, even as she and her colleagues operate within an incredibly challenging context. Data underscores this reality: the latest Women, Peace and Security Index ranks Pakistan 13th-worst out of 181 countries globally on women’s wellbeing, while the 2021 subnational WPS Index for Pakistan ranks Balochistan as the poorest-performing province, demonstrating a correlation between conflict, fragility, and women’s status. Therefore, criminalizing peaceful women leaders risks undermining both peacebuilding and women’s advancement in Pakistani society.
An Opportunity for International Advocacy
Political engagement and respect for human rights are the cornerstones of any democratic society. These are both under attack when human rights defenders like Dr. Baloch are targeted. The international community should advocate for the government of Pakistan to release Dr. Baloch and Shahjee, ensure a fair trial and protection for their families, and engage with Baloch peacebuilders and human rights defenders to address the grave injustices they have experienced. The United States is uniquely positioned in this regard, as Pakistan remains a close ally of the country, and the US has continued interests in a stable and rights-respecting Pakistan. In October 2024, speaking to Zeteo, Dr. Baloch’s message to the American government was not to turn a blind eye to the suffering in Balochistan. Not only is this advocacy imperative for the protection of basic human rights and dignity, but it will also improve human security, development, and women’s status in Balochistan and the country.
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