Gulzadi Baloch, a member of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Quetta court in a 2022 murder case. Her lawyers have strongly disputed the conviction and alleged serious violations of her right to a fair trial.
Gulzadi became known for raising her voice for Baloch families searching for missing loved ones and for participating in BYC’s rights campaigns. The UN has previously documented reports of state violence and arbitrary arrests against BYC members during peaceful protests.
The disturbing question is whether Pakistan is increasingly treating peaceful dissent and demands for rights as a crime.
When activists are detained, protest movements are criminalised and serious questions are raised about due process, the state cannot simply silence criticism through force and legal proceedings.
Rights cannot be secured through repression. Voices cannot be permanently silenced through imprisonment. And justice must never become a tool for suppressing dissent.