Sentenced to life: Why a Pakan anti-terrorism court’s verdict against activ Mahrang Baloch sparked a global outcry

Holding her guilty for the killing of a Pakani paramilitary soldier during the 2024 protests, leading human rights activ Mahrang Baloch has been sentenced to life in prison an anti-terrorism court, sparking global outcry.
Baloch has campaigned extensively against disappearances in the Balochan province.
She once led an all-women march on a 1,600-km stretch to the capital city Islamabad to seek justice for missing family members from Balochan and other regions of the country.
Sibghatullah, another leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (C) advocacy group and her associate, also faces life behind bars.
The Pakani government has accused C of links with Baloch militants, which the organisation has rejected.
Baloch’s lawyer has also vowed to appeal her conviction for murder and terrorism, news agency Reuters reported.
Who is Mahrang Baloch?
A fierce opponent of enforced disappearances and alleged human rights violations in southwestern Balochan province, Pakani authorities detained her since March 2025. She has campaigned in Balochan since 2009, when her father was allegedly taken service officers and found dead with alleged signs of torture two years later, BBC reported.Story continues below this ad
International outcry and mockery of justice accusations
The court proceedings were criticised the Swedish environmental activ Greta Thunberg, who in a statement said the trial was a “mockery of justice” conducted “in utter secrecy” and levelled allegations of criminalising dissent against the Pakani state.
Human rights activs criticised the trial as the accused were asked to appear via video link from prison but instead boycotted proceedings.
International human rights NGO Amnesty called the verdict “an affront to the right to a fair trial”.
Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s Acting Regional Director for South Asia, said the verdict “demonstrates how Pakan’s anti-terrorism laws are being cynically misused to silence peaceful dissent. The conviction and sentence followed an expedited secret trial conducted on jail premises, during which serious concerns were raised over international fair trial standards and due process. No direct evidence was presented linking Mahrang and Shah Jee to the alleged violence”.
Official defence of the judicial outcomeStory continues below this ad
Defending the verdict awarded the court on Monday, Balochan government officials said the process followed a fair trial and proved that if protesters use violence and target state officials, they can be prosecuted as terrors, Reuters reported.
“Those who take the law into their own hands under the guise of peaceful protest, promote violence, and target state officials are, in fact, facilitators of terrorism,” Sarfaraz Bugti, the chief miner of Balochan province, said.