QUETTA, BALOCHSITAN: Detained Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Dr. Mahrang Baloch has said in a statement issued from Huda Jail, Quetta, that the judiciary in Balochistan has completely lost its influence and the public’s trust. The judiciary, once responsible for delivering justice to the people, is now acting as a facilitator for state institutions and trampling on the requirements of justice.
She said that Balochistan Chief Justice Kamran Mullakhel is personally overseeing all BYC-related cases and under his leadership, Justice Muhammad Ali Mubeen, Justice Qadir Shah Bukhari and all judges hearing BYC cases across Balochistan have been tasked with issuing verdicts in line with state directives. Under such circumstances, she said, the judiciary’s impartiality and independence have come to an end.
The BYC leader said the case of Gulzadi Baloch is a clear example of judicial conduct. The presiding judge has stated on several occasions that he is under pressure and has been instructed to hand down a conviction in the case, a claim that raises serious questions about judicial independence and impartiality. She said that on September 7, despite a court strike and the absence of defense counsel, proceedings in Gulzadi Baloch’s case continued and a witness was cross-examined in the absence of a defense lawyer. She said this raises serious questions about the fundamental right to defense and the principle of a fair trial.
She said that similarly, in their own cases, state-appointed lawyers were assigned without their consent and were brought to Islamabad with various privileges, while they themselves were denied the basic right to a defense. “Is this the justice of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” she asked, “where courts, instead of making independent decisions, are merely delivering pre-determined verdicts handed down by state institutions?”
She said they have a constitutional and legal right to appeal the life sentences handed to them, but even the hearing of their appeal has been scheduled for a date as far off as October. She said that such continuous delays under Chief Justice Kamran Mullakhel are undermining their fundamental right to appeal and to speedy justice. When a person is already in custody, she said, indefinitely postponing their appeal effectively turns detention itself into punishment.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch said that from June 13 to date, BYC has boycotted 20 hearings in protest against “faceless trials.” She said a petition on the matter has been filed in the Balochistan High Court, but instead of hearing the petition and safeguarding their fundamental right to defense, the court under Chief Justice Kamran Mullakhel has continued to delay the matter, a pattern she said raises clear questions about the judiciary’s impartiality.
The detained leader said that on the other hand, for the past six months, instead of hearing their bail applications, Chief Justice Mullakhel has repeatedly had the cases de-listed from the cause list. She said that punishing a person through the judicial process itself while continuously delaying bail matters runs contrary to the basic principles of justice.
She said the Chief Justice of Balochistan should, instead of acting as a party to the case, make impartial and justice-based decisions in keeping with the requirements of his constitutional office. The judiciary’s role, she said, is not to provide legal cover for the decisions of state institutions but to protect citizens’ fundamental rights, their right to defense, and their timely access to justice.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch concluded by demanding that the Supreme Court of Pakistan and international human rights organizations take immediate notice of judicial bias, denial of the right to defence and delays in the delivery of justice in BYC-related cases and ensure a transparent and impartial investigation.
