Pakistan has once again detained Mahrang Baloch, a prominent advocate for the human rights of the Baloch ethnic minority, and prevented her legal counsel from seeing her in prison.
Nadia Baloch, her sister, informed TIME on Monday that Mahrang appeared “weak and stressed” after a brief visit at Quetta’s Hudda District Prison, where she’s been held since the previous Saturday. Mahrang Baloch’s lawyer was denied entry, as was the food brought by her family. Nadia Baloch stated, “Our biggest concern is that she will be given tainted food—or something even worse.”
Mahrang Baloch’s arrest highlights the complexities and dangers associated with her advocacy for the Baloch people. This ethnic group, estimated to number between 10 and 15 million, inhabits arid regions divided by the borders of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. Similar to the Kurds, whose historical homeland was split among several Middle Eastern nations during the creation of nation-states, many Balochis desire greater autonomy, if not their own independent state. Some have resorted to armed resistance. Pakistan’s Balochistan province has experienced decades of conflict between the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the heavily armed state. The most recent clash on March 11th saw a BLA force launch a significant operation, resulting in numerous casualties.
Pakistan’s response to the insurgency has been a long-standing crackdown, resulting in thousands of Balochi citizens disappearing and presumed dead. Mahrang Baloch established the Baloch Yekjehti (Solidarity) Committee to push for a political future rooted in respect for human rights, including determining the whereabouts of the missing. However, the government has not engaged in dialogue.
Following the Jaffar Express hijacking, state security forces increased pressure on Balochi human rights activists, detaining several Solidarity members in Quetta. On Friday, state forces opened fire on demonstrators demanding their release, resulting in three fatalities. Mahrang Baloch was arrested the following day at a sit-in protest where people gathered with the victims’ bodies.
Imran Baloch, her lawyer (who, like many Balochis, uses Baloch as a surname but is not related to her), stated, “She is very strong and will not give up.” He added that the government is clearly threatened by Mahrang’s growing prominence, noting that the escalation against her began in October after she was named one of TIME’s list of the world’s emerging leaders. Mahrang only discovered she had been placed on a no-fly list and her passport suspended when she was prevented from boarding her flight to New York to attend a TIME event. Her lawyer added that she felt “pressurized” by the government after being nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Sarah de Roure, the global head of protection at ISHR, stated in October after Mahrang was detained at Karachi airport, “There is a complex web of violence and human-rights violations in Balochistan that creates a very challenging environment for human-rights defenders, particularly women human-rights defenders, working on issues of enforced disappearance.”
“She is being targeted as a woman, as a Baloch woman, because of the work she’s doing, which is publicly speaking on the issue of enforced disappearance—initially concerning her own family, and then as part of a broader movement.”
Following her most recent arrest, prominent human rights advocates, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have called for her release.
Nadia Baloch, her sister, said the family had been turned away the previous three days when they tried to visit her in jail. “So today we said that we will be on hunger strike if you will not allow us to meet her. Then they just allowed me to visit her for few minutes,” she said. “She did not know the reason that she was arrested. I must say that is illegal, that they have not allowed her lawyer to meet her. They have isolated her in a room separate from the other prisoners.”
