QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN: The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a prominent Baloch rights advocacy group, has rejected what it calls a systematic weaponization of the judicial system, accusing state authorities of using the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and anti-terrorism laws to silence political dissent and target its leadership.
In a statement issued, BYC said the state apparatus and judiciary are working “jointly” to punish its leaders through fabricated charges, unconstitutional proceedings, and sustained legal harassment.
According to the group, several of its leaders including Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Beebagr Baloch, Sibghatullah Shahji, Beebow Baloch and Gulzadi Baloch have been detained for the past 16 months and collectively face more than 50 cases the organization describes as fabricated.
BYC said its leaders were subjected to over a month of “faceless, secret trials” before an Anti-Terrorism Court. The group said that after its leaders boycotted the proceedings, calling them unconstitutional, authorities appointed legal counsel for them without their consent. Dr. Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji were subsequently handed life imprisonment sentences, which BYC has called baseless.
The statement also pointed to a newly filed case as evidence of what it called an intensifying crackdown. First Information Report (FIR) No. 10/2026, filed on April 24, 2026, charges Gul Zadi Baloch under PECA 2016 and the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 in connection with a video posted on TikTok.
BYC said the FIR itself acknowledges that Gul Zadi was already in judicial custody in Mach, District Bolan, at the time the video was allegedly posted, with authorities claiming an unidentified third party uploaded the content on her behalf. The group called this “a desperate and baseless tactic” to compound charges against someone already imprisoned.
BYC described the pattern of cases as “a coordinated campaign of judicial oppression” rather than routine legal proceedings. The group said it has “zero trust” in a system it accused of dismissing urgent pleas over judicial bias, only for severe sentences to follow shortly after.
“We will not be silenced by this judicial tyranny,” the group said in its statement.
BYC urged the international community, human rights organizations, and justice advocates to take notice of the situation in Balochistan. The group demanded an immediate end to what it called secret trials and called for the “unconditional release” of all BYC leaders currently in custody.
