Mahrang Baluch fought for her missing father – now she faces life in a Pakistani prison

When Dr. Mahrang Baloch was a teenager, she joined hundreds of families in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province to search for her father, who was allegedly captured and killed by security forces.

Years later, the doctor-activist became one of the most recognizable faces of the movement seeking answers to forced disappearances in the state.

Now, she faces life behind bars.

Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Court Mahrang and his fellow activists Sibgatullah Shah were sentenced to life in prison on charges of terrorism, sedition and murder in connection with the death of an army soldier during the 2024 protests in Gwadar city.

The couple is expected to deny the charges and appeal.

Nadia Baloch, Mahrang’s sister, told the BBC after the decision that the family was in denial.

“We will challenge this decision in the higher courts,” said Nadia, a member of her sister’s legal team.

Nadia paused when asked if she had visited her sister in prison.

“I don’t have the courage to see her,” she says, feeling let down by not getting justice for Mahrang.

For Mahrang, 33, the issue of enforced disappearances is not just political. It is deeply personal.

Her father Abdulgafar Langov, a political activist, disappeared in 2009 when she was 16.

Almost three years later, Mahrang’s family received a call informing them that his body had been found in Lasela district in the south of the state.

In the year

The circumstances of her father’s death shape much of her life.