BYC leaders launch hunger strike over alleged mistreatment of group’s leadership

Leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, including chief convener Dr Mahrang Baloch, on Friday launched a hunger strike against alleged mistreatment while in custody, Mahrang’s sister Nadia Baloch stated.

Mahrang and other BYC activists were arrested on March 22 for allegedly “attacking” Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence”, a day after their members faced a police crackdown in Quetta while protesting against alleged enforced disappearances.

Nadia told Dawn.com today that Mahrang had gone on a hunger strike, while Mahrang’s lawyer Imran Baloch said that BYC central leaders Saghbatullah Shah, Beebarg Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch, and a hundred supporters also went on a hunger strike last night.

“Dr Mahrang Baloch has said that the hunger strike was launched to protest the torture by CTD (Counter-Terrorism Department) officials inside the district jail and the transfer of Beebow Baloch to District Jail Pishin,” Imran told Dawn.com.

“Currently, more than 100 BYC officials are on hunger strike on the instructions of Dr Mahrang Baloch,” he added.

In a statement published on X on Thursday, Nadia claimed that Beebow had been separated from Mahrang and Gulzadi and imprisoned at District Jail Pishin, alleging that she had been denied access to her family and legal counsel.

“Before being transferred to Pishin, she was subjected to physical torture and mental and psychological torture, and all this was done by state institutions,” Nadia alleged.

“Separating Beebow from Mahrang and Gulzadi is part of a state plan aimed at forcing them to sign a cruel, illegal and baseless agreement through isolation, violence and fear, which they have already rejected,” she wrote.

The BYC leader’s sister further alleged that prison administrators tried to conceal Beebow’s location but later released that information “when the pressure increased.”

“This is not just an unconstitutional move but a grave violation of basic human rights,” Nadia wrote. “We deeply fear that now Mahrang and Gulzadi will also be separated under the same plan and all three will be kept in individual cells in complete isolation.”

Meanwhile, the BYC issued a statement X on Thursday, saying that the group’s leadership were observing the hunger strike to protest “torture inside prisons”.

The group’s statement added that the leadership’s “only ‘crime’ was organising peacefully in an environment saturated with state terror and violence”.

Mahrang’s arrest under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordnance drew widespread condemnation from Baloch rights activists and international rights bodies.

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor said on X she was “very concerned” about the reported arrests of Dr Mahrang and others. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said it “strongly urges the state to avoid taking excessive steps to curb dissent”.

The Balochistan National Party-Mengal started a “long march” from Wadh to Quetta on March 28 to protest the arrests of BYC leaders and activists, including Mahrang and Sammi Deen Baloch, who was released on April 1. The sit-in concluded on April 16, with the party announcing it would launch a public outreach movement instead.