ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Amnesty International has called on Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti to immediately release all detained Baloch activists, including prominent human rights defender Dr. Mahrang Baloch, and to end what it described as a growing crackdown on peaceful dissent in the province.
In a public letter issued on Tuesday, the global rights organisation urged the provincial government to drop all charges against activists arrested solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“I urge you to release all Baloch activists targeted solely for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” the letter addressed to CM Bugti stated.
The arrests in question followed a protest in March this year when members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), including Dr. Mahrang Baloch, were taken into custody after a demonstration against alleged enforced disappearances. Authorities had accused them of “attacking” Quetta’s Civil Hospital and “inciting violence.” The BYC has been advocating against enforced disappearances in Balochistan since 2018.
Amnesty International said the crackdown violated Pakistan’s international human rights obligations, particularly the rights to free expression, peaceful assembly, and due process. It identified at least six activists—Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Bebarg Zehri, Beebow Baloch, Shah Jee Sibghat Ullah, Ghafar Baloch, and Gulzadi Baloch—as being arbitrarily detained.
“These detentions are being carried out using repressive laws such as the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO) and the Anti-Terrorism Act, which are being misused to prolong arbitrary imprisonment in violation of the detainees’ right to liberty,” Amnesty said.
The organisation also raised concerns about the lack of access to legal counsel and family members for the detainees, warning that such restrictions put their safety and well-being at risk.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch is currently being held at Hudda District Prison in Quetta under Section 3 of the MPO, a provision that permits detention without trial for individuals deemed a threat to public order. The legal period for such detention—90 days—has already expired in many of the activists’ cases, Amnesty said, pointing out that the continued imprisonment is unlawful.
Just last week, a Quetta anti-terrorism court extended police custody for Dr. Mahrang and other BYC organisers by another 10 days, further lengthening their detention beyond the initial three-month period.
Amnesty warned that these actions are part of a broader pattern of repression in Balochistan, marked by restrictions on peaceful assembly, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.
In May, Amnesty joined four other human rights organisations in a joint appeal calling on the Pakistani government to release Baloch human rights defenders and put an end to the suppression of dissent across the province.
The Balochistan government has yet to issue an official response to Amnesty’s latest appeal.
