January 13, 2024
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
A latest Special Procedures communication to the Government of Pakistan spoke about the acts of intimidation and harassment – including through arbitrary travel restrictions – and the filing of allegedly baseless criminal charges, against woman activist Dr Mahrang Baloch.
The special communication was sent by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences and Working Group on discrimination against women and girls.
The letter reminded the Pakistan government that Mahrang was a human rights defender and leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a human rights movement established in response to alleged violations committed by the State of Pakistan against the Baloch community living in the country, in particular enforced disappearances.
The day Dr Mahrang was scheduled to travel to New York City to attend an award ceremony organized by TIME, in recognition for her human rights work and to mark her inclusion in the TIME100 Next list for 2024, she was stopped from boarding the flight by immigration authorities at the Karachi International Airport. Dr Mahrang was prevented without being given any basis for refusal to board the plane.
Reportedly, shortly after leaving the airport, her vehicle was intercepted by a group of officers from the Sindh police on the old airport road. The police was physically violent and verbally abusive with Dr Mahrang Baloch and the other human rights defenders with her, including Sammi Deen Baloch, whose case of alleged threats and harassment had also been recently brought to the attention of the Pakistan government. The police illegally seized Dr Mahrang Baloch’s passport and mobile phone, and took the vehicle keys, leaving the women human rights defenders stranded on a deserted road in the late hours of the night.
POLICE FILES REPORTS
After these incidents, a first information report (FIR) was registered by Malir district’s Quaidabad police on Friday 11 October 2024, claiming that Dr. Mahrang Baloch had been inciting violence in the area.
The FIR reportedly invoked section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 as well as sections 124-A (‘sedition law’), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 153-A (promotion of enmity between groups), 500 (punishment for defamation) and 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The FIR said that Mahrang had been carrying out anti-national activities in collaboration with various militant groups.
The Working Committee also highlighted that in July 2024, Mahrang Baloch was charged with murder following the national gathering of the Baloch National Gathering in Gwadar. It is alleged that security forces fabricated a story claiming that a soldier was killed by protesters under the leadership of Baloch. However, the army had reportedly opened fire on the peaceful protest, killing four people and injuring more than a dozen.
The letter by the Special Rapporteur said that the accusations were “reportedly fabricated” with the objective of deterring Mahrang Baloch from continuing her peaceful and legitimate activism, and as part of a systematic campaign to harass her and to divert attention from human rights violations committed in Balochistan.
“Dr Mahrang Baloch has reportedly faced legal harassment and other forms of reprisal due to her human rights work. She was a leading figure in the Baloch Long March in November and December 2023 and played an active role in the Baloch National Gathering in Gwadar Pakistan in July 2024. She has faced severe reprisals for her peaceful work and has been the subject of a disinformation campaign against her. In this context, it is feared that the life, liberty and personal safety of Ms. Mahrang Baloch remain at a heightened risk.”
The Special Rapporteurs have expressed concern in their letter, over the alleged intimidation and harassment of Mahrang Baloch, including arbitrary travel restrictions and baseless criminal charges, in reprisal for her human rights work, particularly on enforced disappearances.
They highlight that these actions by the State have violated her rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, privacy, and family life. They also believe that this appears to be part of a pattern of harassment against Balochistan human rights defenders, with a particular focus and impact on women.
As a result UN’s Working Group has asked the government to provide a response to these points.
They have asked for additional information on the allegations, information regarding Mahrang’s physical and psychological integrity after the travel prohibition and alleged false charges brought against her, including any protection list or mechanism she may be benefitting from. It asked for the information on the immediate measures taken to return Mahrang’s passport and restore the freedom of her movement and ability to travel internationally.
Other points that the Rapporteurs brought up include the measures being implemented to ensure that Mahrang can effectively continue her work as woman human rights defender; what steps have been taken to investigate the violations Mahrang Baloch has been accused of, and to hold accountable any perpetrators, including through criminal prosecutions for arbitrary arrest and torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in custody.
“In case no investigations have been undertaken, please provide information on the reasons thereof. Please inform on the measures that have been taken to ensure the right of relatives of forcibly disappeared persons to truth about the circumstances of an enforced disappearance and the fate and whereabouts of disappeared persons, and the right to seek, receive and impart information to this end. Please provide information about measures taken to ensure that human rights defenders in Pakistan, including women human rights defenders and those working on enforced disappearances, are able to carry out their legitimate human rights work in an enabling environment, free from gender-based violence, intimidation, reprisals or violations of any kind, including through the misuse of criminal charges. 8. Please provide information about steps taken to amend Pakistan’s counter-terrorism legislation to comply with international human rights law.”
Meanwhile, the deadline for submissions to the Committee against Torture for the pre-session in April-May 2025 is Monday, January 13. This is when the List of Issues for the April-May 2026 constructive dialogue will be determined.