The Balochistan High Court has rejected all constitutional petitions challenging the detention of Dr. Mahrang Baloch and other Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders, upholding their arrest under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (3 MPO). The court’s two-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Ejaz Swati and Justice Amir Rana, delivered the long-awaited verdict that had been reserved for over a week.
The detained leaders include Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Beebow Baloch, Gul Zadi Baloch, Shah Ji Sibghatullah, Bibarg Baloch, and Ghafar Baloch.
Reacting to the decision, Dr. Mahrang’s sister, Nadia Baloch, said, “After more than two months of hearings and ten days of waiting for the judgment, this decision raises serious questions about the transparency and integrity of the judicial process.”
Imran Baloch, the lawyer representing the BYC leaders under 3 MPO, stated, “On May 22, 2025, Bench No. 1 of the Balochistan High Court dismissed the petitions of all applicants, including Dr. Mahrang Baloch.”
Renowned human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari also criticized the court’s verdict, saying, “This decision was expected given the previous judicial stance. Dr. Mahrang Baloch and her colleagues have been unjustly deprived of their freedom without legitimate cause. The judiciary, which should protect fundamental rights, has instead enabled the administrative violations of those rights.”
She added, “State institutions are using full force to suppress dissent and punish peaceful resistance. When people are faced with despair, helplessness, and lawlessness by the state, the result can only be anarchy.”
Imaan Mazari posed a direct question to the judiciary: “Who will stop this madness?”
Journalist Kiyya Baloch commented, “The Balochistan High Court’s rejection of petitions against the 3 MPO detentions of Dr. Mahrang Baloch and other BYC leaders once again proves that the judiciary is no longer a refuge for the oppressed but an enabler of state oppression. Courts here do not deliver justice; they merely legitimize power.”
According to legal experts, the only remaining legal recourse for the detainees now is to appeal in the Supreme Court. It is worth noting that Dr. Mahrang Baloch and her colleagues were detained under 3 MPO while leading protests in Quetta against enforced disappearances and state violence.
Lawyers and journalists have emphasized that this ruling reinforces concerns that the judicial system in Pakistan, particularly in cases involving Baloch political activists, has become subservient to government policies highlighting a dangerous trend for human rights and constitutional freedoms in the country.
