A physician from Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan Province is among the hundreds of individuals and organizations nominated for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize this year.
Yet Mahrang Baloch, 32, a rights campaigner, is languishing in prison on charges of terrorism, murder, and sedition in the provincial capital, Quetta.
On March 22, she was arrested after leading a demonstration to demand the release of a leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a civil rights group she leads.
Her arrest has been widely condemned and has sparked a series of protests and strikes.
Since March 28, the Balochistan National Party, an ethnonationalist group, has embarked on a "long march" protest rally. It has mobilized thousands of supporters from across the vast region, and protesters celebrated Eid al-Fitar, the festival marking the end of Ramadan, near Quetta to press for her release.
Experts and activists in Balochistan say the protests and sympathy for Mahrang Baloch are a sign of her growing popularity and leadership stature in a region that has been reeling from a Pakistani military crackdown against Baluch separatists for a quarter-century.
Since the early 2000s, thousands have been killed and injured in attacks by Baluch separatist militants and Pakistani security forces. The BYC claims thousands of Baluch men have been forcefully disappeared or extrajudicially killed by Pakistani security forces. Islamabad, in return, says it is fighting terrorists in Balochistan.
In recent years, disgruntled members of Pakistan's ethnic Baluch minority have come to view Mahrang Baloch as their authentic voice because of her committed campaign for ending forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the exploitation of the region's vast natural resources.
Balochistan's 'Most Important Political Figure'
"She is the most important political figure in Balochistan because she has an unblemished record of standing up for its rights," Ali Talpur, a writer and commentator who has followed the region's politics for decades.
Talpur, now in his 70s, knew Mahrang Baloch's late father, Abdul Ghaffar Langove. The political activist was killed nearly two years after he had been forcefully disappeared in December 2009.
Mahrang Baloch has blamed Pakistan's powerful military for the killing, but Islamabad denies killing political activists.
"After his extrajudicial killing by the state, her natural response was to see that others don't suffer the same fate," Talpur said of what motivates her campaigning.
Mahrang Baloch is the eldest of six children, five girls and a boy. She was only 16 when her father disappeared.
Kiyya Baloch, an exiled journalist covering Balochistan, has tracked Mahrang Baloch's struggle since she led a nearly yearlong successful campaign to secure the release of her brother after he disappeared in 2017.
"This strengthened her resolve to speak up for others as well," he said.
Mahrang Baloch became a household name in Pakistan when she led a protest march over 1,000 kilometers after a Baluch man was killed while in the custody of counterterrorism police in November 2023.
She faced constant harassment, road closures, and other obstacles as she led hundreds of protesters from the remote town of Turbat to Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.
Kiyya Baloch says the government's brutal treatment of protesters, most of whom were relatives of the Baluch victims of forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, attracted attention to their plight in Pakistan and abroad.
During their stay in Islamabad for several weeks, protesters were arrested and beaten. Authorities attempted to deny them food, heating, and medical treatment. Their camp was ransacked, and police used water cannons to disperse them.
"All kinds of pressure were used to wear her down, but she did not break," Kiyya Baloch said.
Celebrated Abroad, Persecuted At Home
"The march brought unprecedented attention to the Baloch struggle,” Time Magazine noted in its citation after including Mahrang Baloch among its 100 emerging leaders last year. The BBC also included her in its 100 Women 2024 list.
"She is a woman leading a massive civil rights movement, which attracts international attention," said Kiyya Baloch.
But at home, her persecution continued.
She was harassed after attending a conference in Norway last July. She was placed on a counterterrorism list and prevented from traveling to New York to participate in the Time Magazine event in October.
"All these measures brought more attention to her struggle," said Kiyya Baloch.
International human rights watchdogs have condemned Mahrang Baloch's arrest.
"We urge the Pakistani authorities to refrain from abusing counterterrorism or public safety measures," United Nations special rapporteurs and human rights experts said a statement on March 26.
In a March 27 statement, Amnesty International said the arrest of Mahrang Baloch and other BYC leaders and activists "shows wanton disregard by the law enforcement agencies for the rights of Baloch people under Pakistan's Constitution and the country's obligations under international human rights law."
Islamabad, however, rejects such criticism.
In a sharp rebuke to the UN, a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman said such statements need to "adhere to principles of objectivity, avoid selective criticism, reflect factual accuracy, and acknowledge the full context of the situation."
Mahrang Baloch's sister, Nadia, has vowed to continue their peaceful campaign in Quetta.
"No amount of violence and oppression was able to break us two decades ago, and it will not break us now," she told journalists on March 26.
