Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) central leader Dr Sabiha Baloch has said the life sentence handed to Gulzadi Baloch reflects what she described as the failure of Pakistan’s judicial system to deliver justice.
Dr Sabiha said judges hearing cases against Gulzadi and other BYC leaders had themselves acknowledged being under pressure while delivering sentences, raising serious questions, she said, about the independence and autonomy of the judiciary.
Gulzadi was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Quetta earlier this week in a murder case registered at Mach police station. Her lawyers said she was not the principal accused and alleged that her statement under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had not been recorded before sentencing, while the defence was not given an opportunity to present final arguments.
The BYC had raised concerns over the proceedings before the verdict, alleging that the judge had repeatedly said he was “under pressure” and might have to impose “life imprisonment or even a death sentence”. It also said a witness was cross-examined on September 7 despite the absence of Gulzadi’s defence lawyer.
Dr Mahrang Baloch, in a separate statement from Hudda Jail, also questioned the handling of Gulzadi’s case, saying concerns over judicial independence arose when witnesses were cross-examined without defence counsel, the defence was denied a full opportunity to present its case and orders were carried out in the absence of the accused and their lawyers.
She described Gulzadi’s sentence as another example of what she called the “continued undermining of justice in Balochistan”.
Dr Mahrang and BYC central leader Sibghatullah Shahji were themselves sentenced to life imprisonment in June in a separate case. Their legal team had boycotted the proceedings, describing them as a “faceless trial”.
Dr Sabiha also referred to the wider situation in Balochistan, saying different areas had effectively been turned into a “prison” through curfews and restrictions on civilian life, while enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings had increased.
She said authorities had claimed to have contacted BYC leaders for negotiations, but alleged that the purpose was instead to silence them.
Dr Mahrang had made a similar allegation in her statement from jail, saying BYC leaders were pressured during what she described as a “negotiation process” to withdraw from peaceful political activities.
“We cannot be silenced until the atrocities in Balochistan come to an end,” Dr Sabiha said.