Supporters of a detained Baloch political activist have urged the UK Home Office, Peterborough Police and government ministers to suspend his removal from the country, citing fears for his safety if returned to Pakistan.
According to campaigners, Shahbar Jamaldini, a resident of Peterborough, is an active member of the UK Cambridgeshire unit of the Baloch National Movement (BNM). They state that he attended a rally in London two days before his detention, which condemned alleged human rights abuses in Balochistan, and that images and videos from the event were widely shared on social media.
Mr Jamaldini’s initial asylum application was refused, but his supporters say a solicitor is preparing a fresh claim. They report that he was detained at Peterborough Police Station after attending a routine signing appointment.
Advocacy groups argue that deporting Mr Jamaldini to Pakistan would expose him to an immediate risk of detention, enforced disappearance, torture or death, pointing to documented cases of returned Baloch activists allegedly facing such treatment. They cite figures from Paank, the human rights department linked to the BNM, claiming hundreds of enforced disappearances and numerous extrajudicial killings in Balochistan in 2025. The Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) has also reported an increase in such incidents in recent months.
Campaigners are calling for:
An immediate suspension of any deportation or transfer.
A temporary stay until his fresh asylum claim is considered.
Guaranteed access to legal representation.
Investigation into past cases of returned activists facing harm.
The Home Office and Peterborough Police have not yet publicly responded to these calls.
Sources cited by campaigners for present examples of such cases in the past include reports from Amnesty International, Al Jazeera, ThePrint and others. The campaigners have also started a petition to halt the deportation of Mr Jamaldini.