UN Special Rapporteur Andrea Bolanos Vargas expressed serious concern over the life sentences given to Baloch Yakjehti Committee leaders Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shah Ji in Pakistan. She urged the judiciary to overturn what she called “unjust convictions.” The sentences were linked to a case involving the killing of a Frontier Corps official.
Local media reported that a Pakistani Anti-Terrorism Court sentenced four activists, including Mahrang Baloch, to life imprisonment. The court also handed life sentences to Baloch Students Organisation Chairman Balach Qadir, central leader Abu Bakr Kalanchi, and BYC leader Sibghatullah Shahji. The UN Rapporteur highlighted alleged violations during the trial, such as denial of fair trial, abuse of antiterrorism laws, and criminalization of peaceful assembly.
Tara Chand, President of the Baloch American Congress, wrote to US President Donald Trump expressing concern over Mahrang Baloch’s life imprisonment. He stated that the verdict undermines due process and the rights of peaceful political activists. Baloch activists have been advocating against enforced disappearances and human rights violations in Balochistan, facing imprisonment and intimidation.
Leading human rights organizations also criticized the ruling, labeling it an “affront to fair trial” and a “blatant miscarriage of justice.” The activists’ imprisonment has raised serious concerns about due process, freedom of expression, and the treatment of political activists in the region.
