An anti-terrorism court in Quetta on Monday sentenced Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch and BYC central leader Sibghatullah Shahji to life imprisonment in a case linked to the death of a Frontier Corps (FC) official during the 2024 “Baloch Raaji Muchi” (Baloch National Gathering) in Gwadar.
Judge Muhammad Ali Mubeen of Anti-Terrorism Court-I delivered the verdict while the two leaders, other detained BYC members and their lawyers were boycotting proceedings over what they described as a “faceless trial.”
Advocate Israr Jattak, who represents Dr Mahrang and other BYC leaders, confirmed the sentences, saying the court had convicted the two leaders in the case concerning the death of an FC official who the prosecution alleged sustained fatal injuries when a crowd pelted stones.
“The judge of the ATC Quetta has awarded a life term to Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji in the murder case of an FC personnel,” Jattak told reporters.
A written judgment setting out the court’s findings and the precise grounds for the convictions had not been released at the time of publication.
Dr Mahrang and other detained BYC leaders have been holding a sit-in inside Hudda District Jail since June 12, demanding open-court proceedings and representation by lawyers of their own choosing.
They and their legal team had boycotted the trial, while the accused also rejected lawyers later appointed by the government to represent them.
Advocate Nadia Baloch rejected the ruling against her sister, describing it as a verdict delivered by a “faceless court” and questioning how the person directly accused of killing the FC official had already been acquitted, while those accused of delivering speeches were sentenced to life imprisonment.
“The person accused of killing the FC official had already been acquitted, while those who delivered speeches were sentenced,” she said.
In a detailed statement following the ruling, the BYC described the life sentences handed to Dr Mahrang and Sibghatullah Shahji as an expression of what it called “Pakistan’s hatred towards the Baloch nation,” saying the verdict would mark the beginning of “a historic phase of resistance and struggle.”
The group said the case had no legal foundation, alleging that the evidence was inadmissible and that two FIRs concerning the same death contradicted one another.
According to the BYC, one FIR recorded the FC official’s death on July 27, while another placed it on July 29, a discrepancy it said undermined the foundation of the prosecution case.
“How can one person die twice?” the BYC said, arguing that when the FIRs themselves were contradictory and the evidence remained questionable, imposing life sentences amounted not to justice but to “open state and judicial repression.”
The BYC compared the ruling with the execution of Hameed Baloch 45 years ago, saying that case remained a stain on the Pakistani state and that the verdict against Dr Mahrang and Sibghatullah Shahji would similarly be remembered.
It also pointed to what it described as state violence during the “Baloch Raaji Muchi,” alleging that four Baloch participants were killed, dozens injured and three permanently disabled when Pakistani forces opened fire, while no one had been held accountable for those deaths and injuries.
The BYC said peaceful political leaders had instead been convicted in a case built on disputed evidence, adding that “those carrying guns are protected, while the unarmed public has been turned into criminals.”
The BYC said the ruling was not limited to Dr Mahrang and Sibghatullah Shahji, but concerned public politics in Balochistan, the struggle of families of missing persons and the right to question state policies.
“This decision has proved that even remaining peaceful has been made a crime in Balochistan,” the statement said, adding that speaking for one’s people and exposing what it described as state repression had also been criminalised.
BYC leader Sammi Deen Baloch said the outcome had appeared predetermined from the day the cases were transferred to the “faceless” trial process, alleging that the prosecution repeatedly pressed the judges to expedite proceedings and hand down sentences.
“That same day, we realised that what awaited us was not justice, but predetermined punishments,” she said, accusing the judiciary of joining other state institutions in efforts to silence peaceful political voices.
Ms Baloch said the judiciary, in which oppressed people had placed their hopes, had failed to act as a barrier against injustice and had instead strengthened those in power.
The BYC said it would continue what it described as a democratic, political and rights-based struggle, arguing that prisons, sentences and criminal cases would not bring the movement to an end.
“Today’s decision is not the final decision,” the organisation said. “The final decision will not be made in the closed rooms of courts. The final decision will be delivered by the history of the people.”