Dr Mahrang Baloch, a Baloch human rights activist well-known for advocating against enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses in Balochistan, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, in a police raid on a sit-in protest in Quetta, capital and largest city of the Balochistan province of Pakistan.
The demonstrations had begun on Friday night in protest at the killing and public display of the bodies of several Baloch youths by Pakistani forces. Dr Mahrang Baloch had called for a called the downing of shutters and a transport strike in Quetta, Turbat, Gwadar and several other cities. This protest also came in the wake of the hijacking of a train carrying numerous Pakistani security forces by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
All of this led to the expectation of heightened state repression, but the firing of gunshots by the Pakistani police came as a shock to the community, although state officials have denied that live ammunition was fired. Hospital reports confirmed that gunshot wounds were among the injuries sustained by the protestors. One death has been confirmed.
The dead bodies of the youths who were killed were seized by the Pakistani security forces during the early hours of Saturday morning, as the sit-in came to a violent close. An internet shut-down was imposed on the area to prevent information of the violent events from spreading online, aggravating the search for Dr Mahrang Baloch and others who were detained.
Dr Mahrang Baloch, a leading member of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a Baloch rights advocacy organisation, confirmed in a post on X on 6 March that she has been nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize:
Media personnel have been reaching out to me about this news, and I can confirm that it is true. I am deeply honored by this nomination, but it is not about me. It is about the thousands of Baloch who have been forcibly disappeared and the families demanding justice. The fight… https://t.co/uii9iHHRNq
— Mahrang Baloch (@MahrangBaloch_) March 6, 2025
She has been cited as the ”most beloved and influential figure in Baloch society today”, and has been named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people of 2024. The international human rights organisation Front Line Defenders has called for her immediate release from Hudda District Prison in Quetta. Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, expressed concern over the arrests on X. The noted environmentalist Greta Thunberg condemned the arrests and state repression.
As the crisis in Balochistan continues to unfold, the fate of Dr Mahrang Baloch and other BYC activists who have been detained is of utmost significance, as their role in raising awareness about the struggle of the Baloch people has been unparalleled. We had the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with Dr. Mahrang Baloch in January of last year, during the “Long March” which did so much to raise awareness at the international level. In this interview she was able to provide much-needed insights into Pakistani state repression against the Baloch people; it is perhaps her courage to speak about such things publicly that makes her the continuous target of this repression.
