THE continued detention of Baloch Yakjehti Committee leaders — including Dr Mahrang Baloch in Quetta and Sammi Deen Baloch in Karachi — is yet another misstep by the state in its fraught relationship with the people of Balochistan.

Dr Baloch has been booked under terrorism, murder and attempted murder, incitement to violence and rebellion, creating disorder and promoting racial hatred, and property damage, among other clauses. This is a sweeping set of charges against a woman known for her unarmed and democratic campaign against enforced disappearances.

Sammi Baloch, who was protesting Dr Baloch’s arrest, was herself detained under the MPO, just hours after a court ordered her release. She was earlier arrested for violating Section 144. The BYC has emerged as a civil society platform that has mobilised Baloch youth, particularly women, around demands for justice, constitutional rights and an end to enforced disappearances.

Instead of welcoming this nonviolent civic awakening in a province wracked by insurgency and violence, the state has responded with force and criminalisation. Protests, court orders and even strikes across the province have not moved the authorities, who seem intent on silencing the BYC through repression.

If the state is truly committed to peace in Balochistan, it must draw a line between militancy and legitimate protest. While terrorists must be pursued with the full might of the state, Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Baloch are not terrorists.

They are citizens demanding their constitutional rights: the right to move freely, assemble peacefully, and speak without fear. Their immediate release, along with other detained BYC members, is essential, not only as a matter of justice but as a first step in healing decades of mistrust.

Organisations like the BYC and mainstream leadership deserve engagement. The way forward lies not in suppression, but in listening — and ensuring that peaceful, democratic voices are heard, not jailed.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2025