Global Campaign Against Detention of Baloch Leaders Begins

February 24, 2026

Quetta: Human rights body Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has called for justice, accountability and resistance, marking one year of the alleged “enforced detention” of its chief organiser, Mahrang Baloch, and other leaders.

The BYC has launched a global month-long awareness campaign from February 20 to March 20 to document abuses, resist repression and demand accountability.

Terror Charges After Protest

According to the rights body, repression by Pakistani authorities in Balochistan has intensified since March 2025.

In March last year, Pakistan charged Mahrang Baloch and several other BYC activists with terrorism after she led a sit-in protest against the alleged illegal arrest and police remand of relatives of victims of enforced disappearances.

Call for Global Support and Action

“The imprisonment of Mahrang Baloch, Bebagar Baloch, Sibghatullah Shah Ji, Gulzadi, and Beebow Baloch reflects a broader pattern of political suppression, enforced disappearances, restrictions on political and social space, and the silencing of dissent,” the BYC stated.

The organisation has urged Baloch citizens, diaspora members, human rights defenders and global supporters to actively participate in the campaign.

It has called on individuals to write articles, opinion pieces and blogs on the situation in Balochistan, and to submit documentation to international human rights bodies.

The BYC has also appealed to people to send letters to lawmakers, foreign ministries, the United Nations and its human rights mechanisms, international NGOs and legal advocacy groups.

Concerns Over Judicial Delay

Earlier this month, the BYC raised concerns over the independence of the legal process and alleged judicial delay in reserved bail matters involving Mahrang Baloch and other leaders.

According to the group, Balochistan High Court heard the bail applications on December 17, 2025. The defence completed its arguments, while the prosecution reportedly failed to present concrete evidence to justify continued detention.

The court reserved its judgment, but nearly three months later, no decision has been announced. The BYC said that in Pakistan, reserved bail judgments are usually delivered within days or weeks.

“This delay affects fundamental rights, personal liberty and public trust in the judiciary. When peaceful political activists remain in detention without evidence and without timely judicial decisions, it raises serious concerns about the use of legal institutions to suppress dissent,” the organisation stated.