Karachi: On Monday (October 7), Dr Mahrang Baloch, a leading political activist in Balochistan, said she was barred by Pakistani authorities from boarding a flight to New York, where she was slated to attend the ‘Time100 Next’ gala.
Mahrang had been named by Time magazine in its Time100 Next list – which honours “100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership” – in a rare acknowledgment of her efforts and the broader struggle of the Baloch people against atrocities committed by the Pakistani government in Balochistan.
“Despite the hope she embodies, Mahrang Baloch is not sure she’ll live to see her community at peace. ‘Our life is not certain in Pakistan,’ says the 31-year-old doctor, who has faced harassment, arrests and assassination attempts,” Time wrote.
Officials stopped her at the Karachi International Airport, preventing her from travelling to the event, Mahrang said.
Mahrang told The Wire she would challenge the state’s decision to prevent her from travelling to New York by filing a case in Islamabad.
Moreover, on Friday, an FIR was registered against Mahrang in Sindh’s Malir district based on the complaint of local resident Asad Ali Sham, in which it is alleged that Mahrang was involved with militant groups. She has called the case “fabricated”.
The FIR invokes the Anti-Terrorism Act as well as sections of the Pakistan Penal Code dealing with rioting armed with a deadly weapon, unlawful assembly, promoting enmity between groups, defamation and making statements conducive to public mischief.
However, local media has cited Sham as saying he did not file a complaint against Mahrang and that he is in jail on drug charges.
In the first week of September, another human rights activist, Sammi Deen Baloch, was prevented from traveling to Oman, where she was to meet her brother and then attend a conference on human rights. The Wire has previously reported this.
Baloch political and human rights activists are restricted from speaking freely about the unrest in Balochistan province. This has created alarm about their ability to exercise their fundamental rights as guaranteed by the Pakistani constitution.
Authorities stopped, disrespected me: Mahrang
Mahrang, who travelled from Quetta in Balochistan, carried the hope that she would share the unheard stories of her people in New York.
But deep down, she knew she would not be allowed to attend the event, she said.
On Monday, Mahrang said she was not allowed to travel to New York and was made to wait while immigration officers from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claimed that her visa was invalid, despite her US visa being valid for five years and despite her being invited to the Time event.
Immigration officers took pictures of her national identity card and spoke to her rudely, she said.
Mahrang also said her name had not been added to the exit control list (ECL). She told The Wire that it would not have been possible for the US to issue her a visa if her name was on the ECL.
However, Pakistani authorities added her name to another list, the Pakistan National Identity List – which reportedly contains the names of people suspected of involvement in criminal activities and can also be used to deny people from travelling abroad – on October 3, just a day after her being named in the Time100 Next list, she told The Wire.
During this time, Mahrang shared her account of immigration officers’ behaviour toward her on her Facebook and X accounts, but her complaints went unheard by the federal and the provincial government.
Mahrang then exited the airport and joined Sammi Deen Baloch – who had come to see her off – as well as some others. As they left for home, some people suddenly stopped their vehicle, and when Mahrang saw them, she realised they were Sindh police officers along with others in plain clothes.
They spoke to Mahrang and her companions in a harsh, demanding tone and began searching their vehicle. Mahrang repeatedly asked them what they wanted and why they were being stopped, but the officers were rude and did not answer her question, she said.
“We know how the state treats the Baloch. We know, so it was not shocking to see the hatred they had towards us,” Mahrang said.
Mahrang entering the Karachi International Airport. Photo: Sammi Deen Baloch.
The police officers and men in plainclothes confiscated Mahrang’s phone and passport, she said, adding that she resisted but to no avail.
“They seized my phone and passport and humiliated us by pulling off our chaddars, our shawls,” Mahrang recalled, with anger and pain in her eyes.
Eventually, Mahrang and her companions managed to hail a taxi and return home. She told The Wire she wondered what crime the Baloch had committed that led Pakistani authorities to continually strip them of their basic rights, with no one in the government speaking out against such inhumane and undemocratic behaviour toward the Baloch.
‘The Baloch are done giving explanations to the state’
The following day, on October 8, Mahrang along with Lala Wahab Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, and Qazi Khizer held a press conference to share what had happened to her at the airport.
Mahrang criticised the authorities for humiliating and mistreating her. She said the state had failed to understand the status of women in Baloch society, explaining that pulling off a woman’s shawl was a sign of disrespect in Baloch culture.
She expressed disappointment with the questions some journalists asked, pointing out that it was their responsibility to ask what was happening in Balochistan.
“How many people have been abducted in recent times? Have any of you asked the FIA officers on what legal grounds Mahrang Baloch was stopped? Why were her belongings confiscated?” she asked.
“The state asks every Baloch to explain their reactions to these incidents,” Mahrang said, her voice loud and filled with grief. “We Baloch are done explaining to the state.
“We are not treated as humans in this country; we are slaves,” Mahrang said. “Our identity and our dress code are seen as a threat to the state.”
When this reporter asked her about the contrast between the lack of media attention on her ordeal at the Karachi airport and the attention her X post following the August blasts in Balochistan had garnered, Mahrang said with a slight smile she was not surprised by how the media treated Baloch issues.
“Unfortunately, Pakistan’s media organisations are business products; they are not performing their duties with honesty. Instead, they promote the state’s version,” she remarked.
“I would suggest journalists at least update their information,” she added.
When questioned about the Fourth Schedule, which is a list of proscribed people under Pakistani anti-terror law, and the ban on the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, Mahrang said she firmly opposed the ban.
She expressed concern that the state might also ban her organisation, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee.
“The state is sending a message to oppressed people’s movements that they will be banned, but such bans cannot stop people from resisting injustice and human rights violations,” she said.
Regarding the Fourth Schedule, she explained that the state had added countless people, including government employees who had been suspended, to it.
“Through the Fourth Schedule, the state seeks to end political activism and silence dissenting voices,” she stated, adding that even her brother had been added to the list, leaving them in constant uncertainty.
Also read | ‘Watershed Moment’: Interpreting the New Phase in Baloch Activism
Sindh government denies knowing about what happened to Mahrang
Even as Mahrang had posted updates of her account of what happened at the Karachi airport, the Sindh government claimed they were unaware of her alleged mistreatment.
Mahrang explained that while the FIA falls under the federal government, the Sindh police operate under the Sindh government. It was Sindh police officers who allegedly assaulted her and confiscated her phone and passport.
When Mahrang attempted to have an FIR filed, the police refused, she charged. “The Baloch don’t even have the right to file a simple complaint,” she said.
When asked about the Sindh government’s denial, Mahrang responded that the Baloch were well aware of who held real authority in this country. “If both the federal and provincial governments are incapable of doing their jobs, it’s time to question who they are as political parties and where they stand.”
The Wire sent queries to Sindh’s home minister, Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar. He responded by stating that the FIA was not under the authority of the Sindh government.
However, when asked again about the involvement of Sindh police in confiscating Mahrang’s passport and phone, he did not address that question.
Case against her ‘fabricated’: Mahrang
Though she expressed uncertainty about whether she would actually receive justice after challenging her being barred from leaving the country, Mahrang said she remained firm in her commitment to continue the fight for Baloch rights and to pass the movement on to the next generation.
“Our politics is rooted in the politics of truth,” Mahrang said. “The only path to justice lies in the hands of the oppressed movement.”
Posting on X about the FIR registered against her on Friday, Mahrang said the case against her was false.
“A new fabricated police case against me in Karachi shows how the state has grown increasingly uncomfortable with my peaceful activism, especially after recognition by [Time Magazine],” she said, adding that her “peaceful activism will not be deterred by such illegal, unconstitutional, and coercive tactics”.
