Balochistan [Pakistan], August 3 (ANI): In yet another move underscoring Pakistan's continued repression of peaceful Baloch activism, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta on Saturday extended the police custody of Mahrang Baloch and several organisers from the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) for another 20 days.

The order was issued despite growing criticism from rights advocates and legal experts over the ongoing detention.

According to Dawn News, the court's latest decision comes after several months of repeated extensions in the detention of Mahrang and other BYC leaders, who were arrested in March following a protest against alleged enforced disappearances.

Pakistani authorities charged them with 'attacking' Quetta Civil Hospital and 'inciting violence,' charges rights groups say are politically motivated and fabricated to silence dissent.

Mahrang has been held under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO), a controversial colonial-era law routinely used by the Pakistani state to detain activists without trial. Dawn News reported that her remand has been extended multiple times, first in March, then again in April, June, and July, despite no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

At the latest ATC hearing, presided over by Judge Muhammad Ali Mubeen, lawyers Israr Baloch, Shoaib Baloch, and Awais Zehri appeared on behalf of the detained activists. Dawn News quoted Israr Baloch, confirming that Mahrang, Beebow Baloch, and Gulzadi were present, and that the police had requested a 30-day remand, which was ultimately granted for 20 days.

The move has sparked widespread outrage. In a post on X, prominent Baloch activist Sammi Deen Baloch condemned the decision, calling it a dangerous precedent and a symptom of what she termed Pakistan's 'legal and moral bankruptcy.' She accused the judiciary in Balochistan of acting as an extension of state repression rather than upholding constitutional rights.

https://x.com/SammiBaluch/status/1951622454369022052

'The judiciary in Balochistan mirrors colonial-era attitudes,' she wrote. 'These repeated detentions reveal a system designed not for justice but for silencing resistance.'

The BYC, which has campaigned against enforced disappearances since 2018, is not classified as a banned organisation by Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority. However, Dawn News confirms that Mahrang Baloch has been included in its list of proscribed individuals, raising concerns about arbitrary blacklisting without legal justification.

In May, the Balochistan High Court dismissed constitutional petitions seeking the release of Mahrang and other BYC members.

Critics argue that the continued incarceration of peaceful Baloch voices like Mahrang exposes the deep-rooted structural violence employed by the Pakistani state to crush any form of political dissent in the occupied province. (ANI)