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Pakistan’s Sindh Bar Council has strongly criticized the life imprisonment given to Baloch activists. Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Mehrang Baloch has also been sentenced to life imprisonment. Lawyers said that if this verdict has been given without impartiality, independent judicial process and principles of natural justice, then it is a matter of concern.

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Monday sentenced four activists to life imprisonment in a case to the murder of a Frontier Corps officer.

Along with Mehrang Baloch, Baloch Students Organization (BSO) president Baloch Qadir, central leader Abu Bakar Kalanchi and BYC leader Sibghatullah Shaji were also given life imprisonment.

In the statement, the members said that the dignity of the law lies not in its harsh punishment, but in the fairness of the judicial process.

He said, “The purpose of the courts is not to impose any kind of consent, but to protect liberty, prevent arbitrariness and maintain human dignity. If judicial institutions are seen as a medium to suppress dissent instead of protecting liberty, it hurts the spirit of the Constitution and undermines public confidence in the justice system.”

The statement further said, “Dissent is not a crime and peacefully demanding civil rights cannot be considered treason. The right of any individual to assert his rights, justice and the voice of the marginalized is the basic foundation of democracy.”

The members also said that no society can claim the rule of law as long as it criminalises those who express their views.

Describing the action taken against Baloch activists as wrong, he said that punishing those who raise their voice in favor of human rights and constitutional freedom is against democratic values.

Referring to the weakness of the regime, it further said, “People who peacefully demand rights are actually the strongest defenders of democracy, and punishing them shows the weakness of the regime.”