Pakistan slammed for weaponizing law to suppress activists in Balochistan

Quetta, Aug 23 (IANS) Human rights organisation Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) on Saturday accused Pakistani authorities of weaponizing law in the country to suppress political activism in Balochistan.

The remarks came after a Quetta court on Friday ordered another 15-day remand for Mahrang Baloch, the chief organiser of BYC, along with other leaders, including Shah Ji, Beboow, Gulzadi, and Bibagr - drawing sharp criticism from several human rights activists.

“Once again, the leadership of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee has been placed on remand without cause or evidence. In Pakistan, the law has been systematically weaponised to suppress political activism. The judiciary has become ineffective, and the legal system has become a mockery,” the BYC said in a statement.

According to the rights body, Mahrang and the other BYC leaders are being persistently targetted without evidence, adding that the court strangled the very principles of law and justice by sending them to prison.

Condemning the verdict, it asserted that the judiciary’s decision once again proved that, for the Baloch, there is no law, no justice, and no functioning judiciary, only "pieces of paper weaponised at will" against political activists.

The 15-day remand of BYC’s leadership, carried out under the “state’s policy of repression", it said, makes clear that Pakistan is resorting to its most unconstitutional measures to silence political voices in Balochistan.

Highlighting that just as the Balochistan government persecutes political workers on the orders of Pakistani forces, the BYC stressed that the judiciary too has aligned itself with Pakistan’s agenda, denying justice and criminalizing activism.

It added that both the provincial government and the courts function under the dictates of Pakistani forces, which continue to target political workers.

The BYC called on the Pakistani authorities to understand that their movement against the escalating human rights abuses in Balochistan cannot be dismantled through arrests or the detention of its leadership.

“This is a people's movement, deeply rooted in the masses. If the state genuinely seeks to end resentment and hostility in Balochistan, it must first end the ongoing genocide. Until then, the struggle of Baloch political workers will remain organized, determined, and unbroken,” the BYC emphasised.

--IANS

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