Pakistan: Court extends physical remand of Baloch activists, Mahrang Baloch says "movement will not stop with imprisonment"

Quetta, Aug 24 (IANS) The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Quetta has approved an additional 15-day physical remand of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders, including prominent activist Mahrang Baloch, already in custody.

Speaking to reporters outside the court on Friday, Mahrang Baloch accused the state of keeping BYC leaders in prison to intimidate people. However, she stated that "the movement will not stop with imprisonment," The Balochistan Post reported.

She said, "No matter how strong the prison walls may be, they are nothing in front of a mother’s resilience."

She stated that the government's lawyer files for an extension every time she appears in the court and called it the "reality of the judicial system." She further said, "Today, the same law is being used as a weapon by keeping people in CTD custody for 90 days."

She stated that the courts have not been able to recover the missing Baloch and Pashtun people. She remarked, "We began this struggle on the streets and carried it into the courts. These same courts, where thousands of cases of missing Baloch and Pashtuns are pending, have failed to recover them despite protection orders."

Mahrang Baloch warned that state cannot survive by going against the people of the nation and called Pakistan a "failed state." She said, "This is a failed state, and it must be understood that the more violence is used against the people, the stronger the resistance will grow."

She urged the people to rise for their rights. Baloch activist said, "Our movement carries a message for generations to come. The public must rise for their rights. Those who try to suppress or weaken us are the weak ones."

She stated that people of Balochistan are fighting for justice and truth. She said, "They only push state propaganda, but our movement is far ahead of propaganda. We are fighting for justice and truth. No amount of lies or state resources can defeat the truth."

Meanwhile, political and human rights activist Abdul Ghafar Qambrani, connected with the National Party, was released in Quetta after four months of detention. He was arrested during a police and paramilitary raid on April 6. Initially, he was taken to an undisclosed place and then he was moved to Hudda Jail under 3-MPO, along with other BYC leaders, on charges related to terrorism. His daughter, activist Bebow Baloch, continues to remain in police detention along with Mahrang Baloch and other BYC leaders.

In a statement shared on X, BYC condemned the extension of physical remand of its leaders. It stated, "Once again, the leadership of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has been placed on remand without cause or evidence. In Pakistan, the law has been systematically weaponized to suppress political activism. The judiciary has become ineffective, and the legal system has become a mockery. Both the Balochistan government and the courts function under the dictates of state forces, who, out of fear of political struggle, continue to target political workers."

It warned that BYC's movement will not be dismantled through arrests or the detention of its leadership and termed it "people’s movement, deeply rooted in the masses." It further said, "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."

"Today’s decision by the judiciary has once again proven that, for the Baloch, there is no law, no justice, and no functioning judiciary, only pieces of paper weaponized at will against political activists. The 15-day remand of BYC’s leadership, carried out under the state’s policy of repression, makes it clear that Pakistan is resorting to its most unconstitutional measures to silence political voices in Balochistan," it added.

--IANS

akl/mr