Renowned Baloch activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch has said she was detained, harassed, and barred from traveling by Pakistani authorities at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, despite holding a valid U.S. visa and an official invitation to attend a TIME Magazine event in New York.
Dr. Baloch had been invited to the prestigious TIME Magazine gala in New York, where she was recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Emerging Leaders of 2024. Her flight was scheduled to depart from Karachi on Monday night.
Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, Dr. Baloch described the ordeal, claiming her fundamental rights were violated, with no legal justification provided for the five-hour detention.
“I stand before you today to share the gross violations of the basic human rights of the Baloch people in this state,” Dr. Baloch said. “Last night at Karachi Airport, intelligence agencies, the FIA, and Sindh Police violated my fundamental rights as a citizen and subjected us to indefensible treatment.”
She explained that despite completing all necessary travel procedures, immigration authorities stopped her from boarding her flight to New York. “TIME Magazine included me in its list of the 100 Most Influential People, and I was invited to attend their event. My flight was scheduled for last night, but after completing all formalities at the airport, the Immigration Department unjustly prevented me from boarding,” Dr. Baloch recounted.
“When I asked for reasons, the FIA officer simply walked away without providing any explanation,” she added.
Dr. Baloch said she was detained at the airport for five hours without any legal justification. “I was detained at the airport for five hours without legal justification.,” she said. After her flight had departed, a female FIA officer confiscated her passport.
“I spoke to them for over an hour, and only after persistent efforts did they return my passport,” Dr. Baloch said.
Accompanied by fellow activist Sammi Deen Baloch, Dr. Baloch described how the harassment continued after they left the airport. “Just five minutes after we left, our car was stopped again by state intelligence agents and Sindh Police officers.”
“Our vehicle was blocked, and they forcibly removed our driver, assaulted him, and took the car keys,” she explained. “They opened all the doors and searched the car. When we attempted to speak to them, they pulled us out of the car, yanked our scarves, and verbally abused us.”
Dr. Baloch added that her passport, mobile phone, and car keys were seized during the search. “We were left stranded on a deserted road late at night. Two more vehicles arrived, and the men inside continued to harass us with obscene language before driving off,” she said.
Feeling unsafe, the group abandoned their car and took a taxi home. “It was a painful and distressing ordeal to endure such inhumane treatment, and I was subjected to this simply because I am a Baloch and a human rights activist,” Dr. Baloch told the press.
Dr. Baloch said the treatment she experienced demonstrated how the state has deprived Baloch citizens of basic human rights. “If this is how they treat me, with a valid visa and an invitation to a global event, one can only imagine how ordinary Baloch citizens are treated in Balochistan,” she said.
Dr. Baloch made it clear that such actions would not silence her or deter her efforts. “Through this press conference, I want to send a clear message to the state and its institutions: such tactics will neither silence us nor deter us from raising our voices against the violations of human rights in Balochistan. On the contrary, these actions only strengthen our resolve, and we will continue to organize and speak out against the abuse and genocide of the Baloch people.”
Dr. Baloch also appealed to national and international human rights organizations to hold the Pakistani state accountable for the violations against her and to safeguard the rights of the Baloch people.
“I urge all national and international human rights organizations to hold the state of Pakistan accountable for the events of last night and the ongoing severe human rights violations in Balochistan. It is imperative to safeguard the basic human rights of the Baloch people,” she said.