Balochistan: Silencing dissent
On October 29, 2025, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, expressed concern over the inclusion of several Baloch activists on Pakistan’s terrorist Watchlist under Section 11-EE of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997. In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), Lawlor observed that “that more human rights defenders in #Balochistan, including Sabiha Baloch, Shalee Baloch & Sammi Deen, have been added to an anti-terror watchlist which imposes multiple restrictions on their right to defend human rights,” and that the listing “does not meet international human rights law requirements.”
Notifications issued by the Balochistan Home Department on October 2 and on October 16, added more than 100 human rights activists from Khuzdar, Kech, Chagai and other districts across Balochistan, to the Fourth Schedule of Pakistan’s ATA.
Baloch Yakjehti Committee l(BYC) eader Dr. Sabiha Baloch described the move, which also places the activists on the exit control list, as an alarming misuse of anti-terrorism laws. In a statement posted on X, Dr. Baloch noted that, since the Pakistan People’s Party assumed power in Balochistan, the abuse of anti-terrorism legislation has intensified: “These laws are being weaponized against political opponents and human rights activists.” She added that various members of the Baloch Women’s Forum, as well as 32 citizens from Dera Bugti, 26 from Dalbandin, and several others from Kech, Khuzdar, Kharan, Kalat, and Chagai, had all been added to the Fourth Schedule.
The designation under the Fourth Schedule subjects them to intense state surveillance, severely restricts movement, and allows authorities to investigate and freeze financial assets. The opaque process for adding to the list means the true number is difficult to determine. Activists are often not officially informed of their inclusion, and may only find out after facing restrictions on travel or finances.
Similar actions have occurred in previous years. Previously, the names of BYC leaders Mahrang Baloch and Sibagatullah Shah were also added to the Fourth Schedule in October 2024. The BYC, under the leadership of Mahrang Baloch and Sibagatullah Shah, successfully mobilized one of the most significant and sustained peaceful protests in recent years – the Baloch Yakjehti March from Turbat to Islamabad, a distance of over 1,600 kilometers.
Protests by civil society groups and family members of abductees against State-sponsored enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings are not new. In November 2023, a protest march was sparked by the death of Balaach Mola Bakhsh on November 20, 2023, in an alleged fake encounter by the Counter Terrorism Department. On December 6, 2023, hundreds of Baloch walked from Kech District in Balochistan to Islamabad, to protest the killing. On July 28, 2024, BYC organised a Baloch Raaji Muchi (Baloch National Gathering) against the Baloch genocide.
A permanent protest camp set up by Voice for Baloch Missing Persons in Quetta, was a sign of resistance for at least 15 years. However, on April 17, 2025, the Police dismantled the protest camp set up by the families of political prisoners who had been arrested during protests in March 2025 under the leadership of Mahrang Baloch. BYC issued a strong condemnation of the Police dismantling the peaceful protest camp set up by families of political prisoners – including Mahrang Baloch, Shahji Sibghatullah, Bebarg Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch, and Beebow Baloch – all of whom remain in custody under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance. A BYC statement called the Police action “a grave display of authoritarianism.”
On March 21, 2025, a large protest had been organised in front of Balochistan University in Quetta under the BYC banner, led by Mahrang Baloch. SFs used force to disperse the crowd. The protest had been triggered by the enforced disappearances of Beebagr Baloch, one of BYC’s central leaders, and his brother Dr. Hammal Baloch, on March 20, 2025. Beebagr Baloch, a wheel-chair bound activist and a key BYC leader, has been an outspoken critic of human rights violations in Balochistan. The protests resulted in a violent confrontation between the protesters and the Police, resulting in casualties among protesters and injuries to some Policemen. BYC claimed three of its members were killed and another 13 injured. Balochistan authorities claimed that 10 Policemen sustained injuries during the clashes.
In response to this clash, Mahrang Baloch called for a province-wide shutter-down strike to protest against state brutalities, and planned another sit-in protest on Sariab Road in Quetta with the bodies of the dead. On March 22, 2025, a pre-dawn raid led to the arrest of Mahrang Baloch and another 16 activists, and the seizure of the bodies of those killed. In response to Mahrang’s arrest, the province saw a complete shutter-down strike on March 23, with tyres burnt, roads and major highways closed for traffic, and the region brought to a standstill.
With the addition of more Baloch activists in to the Fourth Schedule list, the Pakistan establishment is trying to solve the Baloch crisis with extreme repression. Given the present state of the rising Baloch insurgency, this latest move can only fuel further bloodshed.