June 12, 2025
Staff Report
LAHORE
The sister of Dr Mahrang Baloch, has filed a petitioned in the Supreme Court to overturn an April 15 order by the Balochistan High Court (BHC), that upheld her sister’s detention under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
The petition filed by Nadia Baloch, and with senior counsel Faisal Siddiqi, names multiple respondents, including the federal interior ministry, Balochistan’s home and tribal affairs department, the provincial prosecutor general, police chief, FIA director general, Quetta’s deputy commissioner, and the State of Pakistan itself. It alleges that Mahrang’s repeated detentions and branding as a “militant sympathizer” are part of a systematic effort to silence her advocacy for missing persons. The filing also highlights the enforced disappearances of her father and brother in 2011 and 2017, respectively.
Alongside the main appeal, a separate application seeks an immediate suspension of the BHC order pending the Supreme Court’s decision. Another petition challenging the extension of her detention is expected within days. The appeal also contends that the BHC failed to scrutinize the legality of the MPO order, ignoring a 2003 Supreme Court ruling that mandates detaining authorities to produce all relevant material before the court.
Dr Mahrang Baloch, who is considered a prominent figure in the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), remains incarcerated at Quetta’s Hudda District Prison following a March 22 detention order issued by the deputy commissioner of Quetta.
Filed through senior counsel Faisal Siddiqi, the appeal argues that the BHC’s dismissal of Mahrang’s plea was unconstitutional and legally flawed. Speaking to Voicepk.net, Siddiqi confirmed the petition was submitted on June 10 but noted that no hearing date has been set. He declined to speculate on when the Supreme Court might take up the case.
‘Jailed for peaceful dissent’: Mahrang’s op-ed in Time magazine
In an opinion piece for TIME magazine, Mahrang, who has been otherwise ‘silenced’ by the authorities wrote from prison, accusing the State of conflating peaceful activism with violence.
“For over two and a half months, I’ve been confined to the same prison where my father was held two decades ago—simply for advocating Baloch rights,” she wrote.
She rejected offers of release in exchange for abandoning her activism, asserting that the state has produced no evidence linking her to violence. Her only “crime,” she claims, was speaking at a press conference after a Baloch separatist attack on a passenger train in March.
“I explicitly condemned the hijacking but questioned the state’s narrative. Why were two dozen unidentified bodies buried overnight? Were they militants—or victims of enforced disappearances?” she asked, demanding DNA tests to uncover the truth.
Prison harassment
Mahrang’s activism has drawn global attention—and state ire. After speaking at an event in Norway, she faced harassment allegedly orchestrated by Pakistani officials, prompting intervention by Norwegian security. Upon her return, she was charged with sedition and placed on a terror watchlist.
Meanwhile, the BYC has accused Quetta’s jail superintendent of subjecting its imprisoned leaders—including Mahrang, Bibgar Baloch, and others—to psychological and physical abuse, denying them medical care and family visits. “We will not stay silent,” the BYC declared in a June 11 statement, demanding an end to the mistreatment.