Pushp Saraf
In the rugged province of Balochistan, women are no longer silent witnesses to injustice — they are emerging as the architects of change much to the unease of Pakistan’s authorities. At the vanguard stands Mahrang Baloch who has risen to a commanding stature as the face of a swelling movement demanding safety, rights, dignity and justice for the Baloch people. Confronted by a state apparatus that reflexively brands them as terrorists, these women press forward with unyielding resolve. Their presence is impossible to ignore: public gatherings draw large numbers of women, a powerful signal that the movement’s call has resonated far and wide. Many among them are the mothers, sisters, and daughters of those who vanished into the shadows of enforced disappearances — detained without due process and held in secret — or were claimed by extrajudicial killings.
The emergence of women as leading voices in shaping public discourse marks a groundbreaking shift in Balochistan’s conservative, patriarchal society. Even with Mahrang and several of her associates imprisoned, the movement has only gathered greater momentum. Their resolve reached a dramatic high point following the March 11 hijacking of the Jaffar Express when they launched a determined campaign to reclaim the bodies of local residents killed during clashes between security forces and militants — bodies that had been withheld at a hospital.
Mahrang remains incarcerated at Quetta’s Hudda District Prison. She was arrested on March 22 during a peaceful sit-in organised by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) which she leads. She now faces charges under Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act and the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance.
Hunger strike in jail
While in jail, Mahrang launched a hunger strike along with four of her colleagues, protesting against custodial torture and the judicial system’s failure to protect their rights. After five days without food, she ended the strike on April 28 — a day after the Balochistan High Court admitted her petition challenging her detention. The petition was dismissed on May 22.
Another prominent leader, Sami Din Baloch — herself jailed for nearly a month — later revealed in Karachi that families of political prisoners along with senior lawyers had met with Mahrang, Bebo Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch, Sibghatullah Shahji and Bebigar Baloch inside the prison and persuaded them to call off their strike as their health had begun to deteriorate rapidly.
In an editorial, Dawn observed: “Mahrang is apparently facing the state’s wrath for forcefully raising her voice on the issue of enforced disappearances — initially focusing on her own family and then as part of a broader movement. Since she was arrested, a malicious campaign has been launched against her on both social and mainstream media, linking her with Baloch secessionists and the gruesome attack targeting the Jaffar Express. But her support among the Baloch population has refused to wane. The PPP, which is leading the coalition in the conflict-ridden province, should know better than most about how women prisoners are treated by jail staff in the country. It must also know that no amount of state brutality has ever been able to break the resolve of political prisoners, especially women activists. The proponents of a ‘hard state’, too, should realise that their actions, which do not distinguish between militant separatists and political and rights activists, have deeply alienated an entire Baloch generation, embroiling the province in a cycle of endless violence. There is no doubt that the militant secessionist elements need to be dealt with sternly, even eliminated. But at the same time the state should engage with the more practical political voices from the province and address their legitimate demands. Time is of the essence in this context.” (PPP is abbreviation of the Pakistan People’s Party which is backing the ruling coalition in Pakistan).
Voices of concern continue to mount over the treatment of Mahrang and her fellow detainees. In a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, Mahrang’s sister, Nadia Baloch, pleaded for his “urgent intervention” against the mistreatment of her sibling and other leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) in prison.
Nadia revealed that one of the detained leaders, Bebo Baloch, was transferred to another facility — allegedly to break the group’s unity. For an entire day, Bebo’s whereabouts were unknown. It was later discovered that she had been moved to District Jail Pishin, placed under constant surveillance, with cameras even installed inside washrooms violating her privacy, Nadia wrote.
Mental torture, coercion
In her letter, Nadia alleged that Mahrang was subjected to daily mental torture and coercion to abandon her peaceful movement. When she refused, officials attempted to move her to an undisclosed location. On resisting, she was physically assaulted on April 23, 2025. Nadia argued that these actions violated Articles 4 (right to be treated in accordance with law), 9 (protection of life and liberty), and 14 (inviolability of dignity and protection against torture) of Pakistan’s Constitution. She also cited violations of Rules 939, 940, and 1065 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978, and pointed out that under Sections 167(5) and 167(7) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), female prisoners cannot be transferred between jails without court approval. “Any attempt to remove the detainees from District Jail Quetta to another jail within the province, therefore, would constitute an arbitrary and unlawful exercise of authority,” she wrote.
Nadia urged the Chief Justice to immediately intervene to halt the physical and mental torture, prevent any unlawful transfers and ensure that the detainees’ fundamental rights and safety are protected.
International attention has also started to build. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that she was “very concerned” about the arrests of Mahrang and others. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan issued a statement strongly urging the state to refrain from using excessive measures to suppress dissent.
The women who led first
While Mahrang remains the most prominent face of the current Baloch resistance, she is far from the first woman to shine a light on the plight of the Baloch people. Nearly two decades ago, Karima Baloch emerged as a leading activist challenging the Musharraf government. She joined the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO) and rose to prominence within its Azad faction.
In 2009, Farzana Majeed Baloch co-founded the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), an organisation dedicated to highlighting the crisis of enforced disappearances. Around the same time, Sammi Deen Baloch — mentioned earlier — also stepped into activism. Together, Farzana and Sammi led long protest marches, walking from Quetta to Karachi and from Quetta to Islamabad, demanding the safe return of missing persons.
In 2016, Karima Baloch was granted asylum in Canada, where she continued to globalise the issue of Baloch disappearances by speaking at United Nations forums.
A shared thread binds many of these women activists: personal tragedy. Farzana Majeed was galvanised into action after the disappearance of her brother Zakir Majeed while Sammi Deen’s activism was driven by the abduction of her father Deen Mohammad.
Mahrang’s story is inseparable from personal tragedy. Her father Abdul Ghaffar Langov — himself an activist — was abducted by Pakistani security agencies around 2009. For nearly two years, his whereabouts remained unknown until his tortured body was recovered in 2011. Still in her teens at the time, Mahrang turned to activism, embracing a path of non-violence.
Over the years, she has emerged as a resolute and uncompromising leader breaking the traditional male dominance in Baloch political leadership. One of her defining assertions is: “No one can silence the daughters of Balochistan anymore.” Unsurprisingly, the Pakistani government views her as a thorn in its side.
Unlike some earlier Baloch movements that called for outright independence, Mahrang’s demands are centered on securing basic human rights: an end to enforced disappearances, respect for civil liberties, and an end to the treatment of Balochistan as a colony within Pakistan.
Under her leadership, the Baloch Yakjehti Council has become a vital platform uniting political parties, student groups, and the diaspora with the shared goal of consolidating Baloch unity.
Male leaders sit up and take notice
The growing assertion of women activists has compelled top political leaders to sit up and take notice. Sardar Akhtar Mengal — head of his faction of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) and a former Chief Minister and Senator — launched a protest campaign against the arrest of Mahrang and other activists.
On March 28, he began a “long march” from Wadh to Quetta but was barred from entering the provincial capital. In response, he organised a 20-day sit-in at the Lakpass area of Mastung district. Reflecting on the ordeal, Mengal said, “The state created obstacles in our peaceful long march. At Lakpass, not a single moment passed without danger. Others have the right to protest — but we don’t.”
During the protest, Mengal warned that growing disillusionment with parliament’s failure to address Balochistan’s grievances was pushing people toward the path of armed resistance. It was this deepening frustration that had earlier led him to resign from the National Assembly on September 3, 2024.
Speaking as the chief guest at a seminar titled “Pakistan’s Judicial System and Human Rights Enshrined in the Constitution,” Mengal delivered a blunt assessment of the deepening crisis. He warned that people had become completely disillusioned with parliament and no longer believed it could address their rightful demands. “Sitting in a parliament where questions and free expression are not allowed is nothing but a waste of time,” he said.
Mengal — long regarded, along with a handful of other Baloch nationalists, as one of the last bridges between an alienated population and the state — now stands at the edge of that fraying connection. Eminent journalist and author Zahid Hussain captured the gravity of the situation, noting that even leaders like Mengal “have lost hope in the political process.”
(The author is a veteran journalist and writes on International affairs)
