Pakistani Court Sentences Baloch Activist to Life Imprisonment on Terror Charges

A Pakistani court has sentenced Mahrang Baloch, a prominent rights activist from southern Balochistan province, to life imprisonment on murder and terror charges. The ruling has drawn condemnation from civil liberties advocates.

Baloch, 33, was arrested in 2025 in connection with a protest in the coastal city of Gwadar the previous year. The demonstration sparked clashes that resulted in the death of a paramilitary soldier. Baloch, who founded the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), received the sentence from an anti-terrorism court in the provincial capital, Quetta, on Monday.

Her lawyer, Israr Jattak, told AFP that Baloch had boycotted earlier court hearings, stating, “we didn’t have any trust in the court. This wasn’t an ordinary case.” The court found Baloch to be an active participant in an “unlawful assembly” and to have shared the common goal of murdering the paramilitary member, who prosecution alleged was killed by sticks and stones. Baloch's legal team denies the charges, and her sister Nadia Baloch confirmed they plan to appeal the decision in a higher court.

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we didn’t have any trust in the court. This wasn’t an ordinary case.