Balochistan [Pakistan], May 12 (ANI): Prominent Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch has strongly criticised Pakistani authorities over restrictions imposed on political activism and public gatherings, alleging that peaceful dissent and human rights advocacy are being systematically criminalized in the country.

Taking to social media platform X, Mahrang Baloch said, 'A state that claims to believe in democracy should never be frightened by peaceful political participation. But in Pakistan, the reality is the opposite. Today, even attending a peaceful public gathering as a supporter of Baloch rights is being treated as a crime.'

Referring to the conditions attached to the recent Aurat March Karachi, she stated, 'The recent conditions attached to Aurat March Karachi clearly expose the mindset of the authorities. The issue is no longer about maintaining law and order; it is about controlling narratives and isolating every voice that speaks about Balochistan.'

She further alleged that constitutional guarantees related to freedom of speech and peaceful protest were being undermined through restrictive measures.

'The constitutional rights to freedom of speech and peaceful protest in Pakistan are increasingly being reduced to mere words on paper,' she wrote, adding that activists often face 'arrests, harassment, surveillance, and intimidation' for failing to comply with such conditions.

Highlighting alleged human rights violations in Balochistan, Mahrang Baloch claimed that Baloch people had for years been subjected to 'enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, media censorship, and collective punishment.'

She also said that families of missing persons, women activists, students, writers, and political workers were being targeted for raising their voices on human rights issues.

In her statement, the activist defended the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), calling it 'a peaceful political and human rights movement' that has consistently highlighted issues such as enforced disappearances and state repression in Balochistan through 'political and constitutional means'.

She questioned the decision to declare organisations such as BYC and Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) as proscribed groups, asserting that 'no court of law has publicly established BYC as a violent or anti-state organisation.'

According to her, despite the absence of a transparent legal process, BYC leaders and activists have allegedly faced fabricated cases, enforced disappearances, harassment, and extrajudicial violence.

Mahrang Baloch further alleged that peaceful activism was being deliberately criminalised because the movement had 'exposed realities that the state wants hidden.' She claimed that authorities were using 'fabricated cases and forced press conferences to surveillance and intimidation' in an attempt to suppress activists and disconnect them from public spaces.

Concluding her remarks, she stated, 'The state continues to fail in understanding one thing: movements built on the pain, memory, and resistance of people cannot be erased through notifications, restrictions, bans, or threats.'

She added that every attempt to suppress peaceful voices only strengthens public awareness regarding the situation in Balochistan and other marginalised regions. (ANI)