Pakistan’s sentencing of Baloch rights activist Mahrang Baloch to life imprisonment has renewed grave concern over the country’s shrinking space for dissent and the increasing use of exceptional justice mechanisms against civilians. The case is not only about one activist; it is also part of a wider pattern in which Pakistan’s military-linked legal system is being used in ways that undermine the independence, transparency, and fairness that justice requires.
According to recent reporting, an anti-terrorism court in Quetta handed life sentences to Mahrang Baloch and another activist over allegations linked to a protest in July 2024 during which a paramilitary soldier was killed. Human rights organizations have warned that the broader legal environment in Pakistan has become increasingly hostile to activists, especially those speaking on behalf of marginalized communities.
The central concern is not merely the outcome of this case, but the process through which activists and civilians are being punished. Rights defenders and legal observers have long argued that Pakistan’s military courts and related extraordinary procedures operate in secrecy, deny meaningful public scrutiny, and weaken the right to a fair trial. The International Commission of Jurists has described the trial of civilians by military courts as incompatible with fundamental rights, citing secret proceedings, lack of independent oversight, and the absence of proper appeal safeguards.
Mahrang Baloch has become one of the most visible voices calling attention to enforced disappearances, abuses, and long-standing grievances in Balochistan. Her sentencing sends a troubling message to human rights defenders, journalists, and peaceful protest leaders: that speaking out may be treated not as civic engagement, but as a punishable offence. Such an approach weakens democratic accountability and deepens mistrust in the rule of law.
The international community has repeatedly made clear that civilians should not be subjected to military justice except in the most exceptional circumstances, and only where full due process is guaranteed. In Pakistan, however, the use of such mechanisms has increasingly become a tool that bypasses ordinary courts and places civilians before systems that are neither independent nor impartial.
This case should therefore be seen as part of a larger human rights emergency. When dissent is criminalised and civilians are pushed into opaque judicial processes, the result is not justice but intimidation. Pakistan must reverse this trajectory, restore the primacy of civilian courts, and ensure that all defendants are afforded transparency, due process, and an independent hearing.
As Rights Defenders Initiative (RDI), we strongly condemn the sentencing of Mahrang Baloch and the broader misuse of judicial mechanisms against activists and civilians in Pakistan. This is wrong, unjust, and contrary to humanitarian principles and international human rights standards. The suppression of peaceful activism, the erosion of fair trial rights, and the use of secret or extraordinary proceedings against civilians must end immediately, and the Pakistani authorities must be held accountable for these abuses.
References
- https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/06/pakistan-authorities-must-immediately-release-baloch-activists-handed-life-sentences
- https://www.icj.org/resource/military-justice-system-a-glaring-surrender-of-human-rights
- https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/31/pakistan-dont-try-civilians-military-courts
- https://www.pen-international.org/news/pakistan-mahrang-balochs-arbitrary-detention-highlights-ongoing-campaign-to-silence-baloch-voices
- https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/pakistan-court-sentences-balochistan-rights-activist-to-life-in-jail/article71143224.ece
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/31/hrw-urges-pakistan-to-not-try-civilians-in-military-courts
