Quetta (Balochistan)

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has announced a province-wide shutdown strike across Balochistan on Wednesday to protest the life imprisonment of its chief organiser, Dr Mahrang Baloch, and central leader Sibghatullah Shahji, according to The Balochistan Post.

As reported by the media outlet, the BYC urged traders, transport operators, students, political activists and the wider Baloch community to participate in the strike, calling on people to unite against what it described as injustice.

The Balochistan Post reported that an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta sentenced Dr Mahrang and Sibghatullah Shahji to life imprisonment in connection with the death of a Frontier Corps (FC) official.

Prosecutors alleged the official sustained fatal injuries during stone-pelting at a protest held in Gwadar in 2024. The two leaders, along with other detained BYC members and their legal representatives, reportedly boycotted the court proceedings, alleging that the trial was conducted inside Quetta jail without transparency and describing it as a "faceless trial".

According to the report, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) has extended full support to the BYC's strike and strongly criticised the verdict. According to The Balochistan Post, the PTM said the judgment reflected what it described as the judiciary's role within Pakistan's state structure and alleged that the legal system had long been used to suppress political movements in Baloch and Pashtun regions.

The PTM further claimed that the proceedings against the BYC leaders did not meet internationally accepted standards of a fair trial, independent legal representation or judicial impartiality. It also questioned why life sentences were handed down in cases linked to the "Baloch Raaji Muchi" gathering, while, according to The Balochistan Post, no criminal case had been registered over the deaths of three Baloch protesters during the same event.

The movement also raised concerns over alleged enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and military operations in Baloch and Pashtun areas, asking where cases involving alleged state violence were being heard.

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PTM maintained that the ruling was aimed not only at individual BYC leaders but also at political movements demanding national rights.

Reaffirming its solidarity with the BYC, the PTM rejected the court's decision and pledged full support for Wednesday's province-wide strike.