Agencies
The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday dismissed an appeal filed by the provincial government through the prosecutor general against the acquittal of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Mahrang Baloch in a sedition case, declaring it non-maintainable.
Mahrang had been booked on terrorism and sedition charges by Malir district’s Quaidabad police on Oct 11, 2024 for allegedly inciting people by levelling “allegations against security institutions”.
Over a year later, she was acquitted by a Karachi anti-terrorism court (ATC). Subsequently, acting prosecutor general Muntazir Mehdi, on behalf of the state, had challenged the acquittal before the SHC in December 2025.
On Monday, a two-judge SHC bench, headed by Justice Shamsuddin Abbasi and including Justice Miran Muhammad Shah, heard the appeal. Advocate Jibran Nasir appeared before the court to represent Mahrang and advanced his arguments.
The court observed that the complainant in the first information report (FIR) was a private individual and questioned how the prosecution could file an appeal against the acquittal instead of the complainant.
The prosecution claimed that the ATC had ignored facts while accepting Mahrang’s acquittal application. It highlighted that the public prosecutor had informed the ATC that there was clear evidence against Mahrang and that such evidence was supposed to be presented during trial. The prosecution further argued that deciding the acquittal application before the framing of charges was inappropriate. Mahrang, who is in Quetta prison in connection with other cases, had filed an acquittal application under Section 265-K of the Code of Criminal Procedure before ATC-V, which the court allowed.