The Front Line Defenders, an Ireland-based global human rights organization, has strongly condemned the filing of sedition charges against Dr. Mahrang Baloch, a renowned Baloch woman human rights defender. The charges stem from an FIR lodged by Pakistani authorities on June 7, 2024, which includes allegations related to a press conference held in Quetta last month.
The human rights group said in its statement that Dr. Mahrang Baloch, a leading figure in the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), has been vocal in her campaign against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan — a region long suffering from violence and abuses by state forces and an armed guerrilla campaign by Baloch “pro-independence” groups.
The group said these charges are the state’s anticipated reaction to the human rights advocacy Dr. Mahrang and her fellow activists are carrying out in Balochistan.
The group said that the disputed conference, which took place at the Quetta Press Club on May 18, was interrupted by local police actions, including locking the gates to prevent attendees from participating. Despite these obstacles, BYC members proceeded with the event, highlighting ongoing human rights violations in Gwadar and other areas of Balochistan, the group said.
Front Line Defenders criticized the Pakistani state’s pattern of framing human rights defenders as anti-state actors and employing legal and ‘extralegal’ measures to suppress their activism. The organization demanded the immediate withdrawal of all charges against Dr. Baloch and called for an environment where human rights work can be conducted safely and with dignity.
Before this, PEN Norway referred to Dr. Mahrang Baloch as a courageous advocate for justice and basic human rights in Balochistan. The secretary general of PEN Norway expressed concern and condemnation, noting that while the Baloch activists have faced repeated intimidation and threats to remain silent in Balochistan, the fact that they are now being threatened in Norway is alarming and condemnable.