BYC condemns 3-month detention of Mahrang Baloch as crackdown on truth intensifies

Quetta [Pakistan], June 22 (ANI): It has now been three months since Mahrang Baloch, central organizer of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), was arrested on March 22, 2025, a day etched in the memory of every Baloch family resisting enforced disappearances and state brutality.

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According to an audio message released by her sister Nadia Baloch via the BYC's official X account, Mahrang's only 'crime' was "speaking the truth, for questioning tyranny, for standing up for the disappeared."

Nadia recounts the family's desperate search for justice: "We went to the Balochistan High Court. We knocked on every door of the law. But inside that courtroom, we were treated not as petitioners, but as suspects, watched, followed, and humiliated."

As per the BYC, Mahrang's detention marks yet another chapter in a long history of targeting Baloch voices who refuse to surrender. "We've been raised by resistance," Nadia said. "We were taught never to bow down. Our loyalty lies with our motherland, Balochistan. And in return, we are jailed... and labelled traitors."

BYC further revealed that the state-backed media launched a coordinated smear campaign against Mahrang, branding her as an "agent" and her peaceful resistance a "conspiracy." Prominent news anchors and even self-proclaimed human rights defenders joined in this vilification, echoing the state narrative.

Even behind bars, Mahrang's family faces intimidation. "When we go to meet her, we're met with bitterness on the jailer's face and humiliation in his tone. We are treated like criminals simply for not remaining silent," said Nadia.

The BYC emphasised that in Balochistan, seeking education, asking questions, or standing with victims has become punishable. "Despite the state's oppression, Dr. Mahrang stood tall, village to village, youth to youth, spreading awareness. And now she's behind bars because she refused to sell out."(ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)