An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta on Thursday extended the physical remand of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and several other organisers of the group for another 15 days at the request of police, her lawyer said.
Advocate Israr Baloch told reporters that Dr Mahrang, along with BYC leaders Beebow Baloch, Sibghatullah Shahji, Gulzadi and Beeberg Baloch, was produced before Judge Muhammad Ali Mubeen of ATC-I, who approved the extension. It marked the sixth extension of their remand since their detention.
At the last hearing, held on a weekly holiday, the court had granted police five more days of remand. Lawyers argued that repeated extensions were unlawful and “a tactic to keep these leaders under mental and physical pressure.”
Mahrang and the other BYC organisers were initially detained under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO), which allows preventive detention for up to 30 days. The Balochistan Home Department subsequently extended her detention multiple times before registering new cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Pakistan Penal Code.
The ATC has since issued repeated extensions of physical remand. Last month, an ATC in Karachi also issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Dr Mahrang in a sedition case, adding to the string of legal challenges she faces.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Dr Mahrang Baloch said the proceedings were part of a “pre-written script.”
“Decisions against us are written in advance, and our cases are conducted by pressuring the courts,” she said. “Courts where state institutions decide the outcome beforehand cannot be considered independent. We have no expectation of justice, but we will continue our struggle under all circumstances.”
She added that the state was using “false cases” to suppress her democratic and peaceful political role, but its ultimate aim was to silence the wider voice of the Baloch people.
BYC lawyers condemned the ruling, saying their clients were being held under prolonged remand “without legal justification.” They argued that repeated extensions amounted to a violation of basic human rights, noting that no clear evidence had been presented in court. Lawyers said they would appeal to higher courts to seek relief.
Disappearance of Mahjabeen Baloch
During the same appearance, Dr. Mahrang also condemned the enforced disappearance of Mahjabeen Baloch, a female student of library science at the University of Balochistan and a person with disabilities, who was forcibly disappeared from her hostel in Quetta on 29 May.
She said the case underscored how repression in Balochistan had now reached a stage where “even women are being subjected to enforced disappearances.”
She stressed that a student with a disability has been held in enforced detention for nearly three months, yet the courts have failed to even order her production.
“Whether it is the courts or parliament, none are empowered; decisions come from elsewhere, and the institutions only exist for show,” she told journalists.
According to her, what exists in Balochistan is “military rule,” where parliament and the judiciary have failed to play their constitutional role. She said women from villages had previously been forcibly disappeared, but now even female students in cities were being targeted.
She appealed to human rights groups and civil society to raise their voices against what she described as “a grave crime.”
“Our fundamental demand is that the people of Balochistan be given their inherent and constitutional rights,” she said. “We will continue our struggle for these rights.”