In a downtrodden and oppressed region—Balochistan—where truth is branded as a crime, dissent is dubbed as a threat, and political activism is viewed as seditious, choosing to speak out against atrocities inflicted on its native people, when the majority hesitate to dare, is a high-calibre act of fortitude, resilience, and fearlessness. Mahrang Baloch—a prominent human rights activist and the chief organizer of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC)—is one of the powerful names among the gems of gems who choose to stand like an iron wall against sheer state barbarism.
Mahrang Baloch grew up leading protests and chanting slogans. She became politically conscious at an early age after her father, Abdul Ghaffar Langove—a political activist—was abducted in 2009 when she was 16. Then, in 2011, her father’s mutilated body was found. This tragedy shattered her life, and yet she chose to remain silent and focused on education. However, when her brother, Nasir Baloch, was also forcibly disappeared in 2017, fearing his fate would be the same as her father’s, she decided to break the silence. Today, she is a formidable voice of resistance, exposing the state’s gross human rights violations in Balochistan.
As the chief organizer of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC)—a grassroots human rights movement based in Balochistan, established in 2020 after Malik Naz was killed, leaving her 4-year-old daughter Bramsh injured in Dannuk, Kech—Mahrang has been at the frontline of conducting rallies, protests, sit-ins and demonstrations across Balochistan against the grim issues of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and other genocidal policies of the state plaguing Balochistan.
She rose to prominence when she led an overwhelmingly crucial protest movement—a 1,600-kilometer Long March from Turbat to Islamabad in 2023— fueled by the extrajudicial assassination of Balaach Mola Bakhsh at the hands of the CTD. The long march was an attempt to draw national and international attention towards the deteriorating human rights conditions in Balochistan. She also led several other significant protest movements, such as Baloch Raaji Muchi (Baloch National Gathering) in Gwadar on July 28, 2024, and a national gathering in Dalbandin on January 25, 2025.
The situation turned ugly when the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) held a peaceful demonstration outside the University of Balochistan, Saryab, Quetta, on March 21, 2025, protesting against the enforced disappearance of BYC senior member and wheelchair-bound activist Beebagr Baloch, along with his brother Dr Hammal Baloch, Dr Ilyas Baloch—a prominent Baloch psychiatrist and the vice chancellor of Bolan Medical College (BMC)—as well as the detention of Saeeda Baloch and several others.
Instead of listening to their grievances and releasing the abductees, the government of Balochistan launched a ruthless crackdown on the protest demonstration with tear gas, water cannons, and straight firing, resulting in the deaths of three protesters and injuries to several others. The BYC then organized a sit-in with the dead bodies, demanding justice. However, the situation turned uglier when police launched a pre-dawn raid on the sit-in, seizing the dead bodies and illegally arresting Mahrang Baloch and others—crossing all limits and showcasing the zenith of barbarism.
At the time of writing this, it has been over 48 hours since Mahrang Baloch’s arbitrary detention. She is being denied legal representation and family visits. She is being kept in isolation, raising concerns about her physical and psychological well-being. Mahrang is Balochistan’s red line. Anything that happens to her would be suicidal for the state. The state is playing with fire. The flames of that fire will ultimately engulf itself. Before it is too late, the state should revisit its catastrophic strategies towards Balochistan.
Mahrang Baloch is not an ordinary name. She is a nightmare for the powerful quarters. She is the collective consciousness of the Baloch nation. She is the brave and powerful voice of Balochistan. She is an epitome of resistance, an emblem of courage, and the true face of the Baloch struggle. She has already faced detention twice and confronted state crackdowns, systematic harassment, bogus FIRs, travel bans, and smear campaigns on social media. Thus, the hideous strategy of pressurizing her to renounce political activism won’t work. She will further emerge stronger with a new spirit.
The world deeply celebrates, recognizes, and respects Mahrang Baloch’s peaceful activism and advocacy struggles, as evidenced by her inclusion in BBC’s 100 Inspiring and Influential Women 2024 list, her feature in Time magazine’s 2024 Time100 Next list, and, significantly, her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize 2025. Unfortunately, she is being treated like a criminal in this country. The rest of the world honours her with awards, while this country repays her with handcuffs. Does this country even care about its international reputation, which is further getting tarnished? It seems otherwise, given its devastating policies on human rights violations in Balochistan.
Given the FIR against Mahrang Baloch and other BYC activists, the draconian charges include offences like murder, sedition, terrorism, and others, which expose the state’s heavy-handed tactics to criminalize political dissent. Equating her peaceful political activism with terrorism and sedition is utterly outrageous, further escalating the already volatile situation and fuelling the flames of resistance. Unless truth over sedition, dissent over force, and justice over violence are prioritized, things will continue to get worse. Considering the grim scenarios, releasing Mahrang Baloch immediately and unconditionally, along with other BYC activists, is the only way forward to defuse the current tense situation.
