QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN: The Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC) has strongly condemned the life imprisonment sentences handed down to political activists Dr. Mahrang Baloch and Shah Ji Sibghatullah, describing the verdict as equivalent to suppressing peaceful political voices.
In its official statement, BSAC said that sentencing political activists like Dr. Mahrang Baloch and Shah Ji Sibghatullah to life imprisonment is tantamount to silencing peaceful political voices, and the committee condemns this in the strongest possible terms.
The statement noted that political activists in Balochistan have long faced difficult conditions, including imprisonment, harassment and crackdowns by successive governments. Due to the failure to meet the demands of justice, the absence of fair trials and the lack of transparent investigations in Balochistan, not only politically conscious individuals but ordinary people too have lost faith in the delivery of justice. The committee said the biggest reason for this despair is the absence of proper redressal mechanisms and transparent procedures.
BSAC stated that Baloch political activists have been enduring imprisonment for over a year, during which they were neither given the opportunity for a fair hearing nor subjected to any transparent investigation. On one hand, incidents of harassment inside jail were reported, while on the other, they were not even allowed to present their position or exercise their basic legal right to choose their own lawyers. The committee said these actions amount to strangling peaceful political activity in Balochistan and giving it a legal form.
The committee reaffirmed its position that regardless of the charges against any individual, their trial must be conducted in an open court following transparent investigations with evidence and witnesses present, and punishment must be according to the law. However, it said, every step and every sentence here is given only for political revenge and to suppress political activity, which is entirely against human rights and the principles of justice. In a country where basic human rights and the demands of justice are not met, such verdicts fall within the category of black laws, the statement added.
BSAC said it views the sentencing of Baloch political activists to life imprisonment as equivalent to trampling transparency and justice underfoot and regards it with extreme concern. It described the verdict as a serious attack on fundamental human rights, adding that these tactics are a failed attempt to obstruct peaceful political struggle because peaceful political action does not bow before any fear or intimidation.
Concluding its statement, BSAC said that handing such a heavy sentence to Baloch political activists on fabricated cases merely for peaceful political activity is a black stain on this system. The committee, as a student organization, expressed deep concern over this injustice, lack of transparency and act of political revenge, and condemned it in the strongest possible terms.
