Mahrang Baloch’s push for the Nobel Peace Prize has not emerged from genuine peace-building efforts but from orchestrated lobbying campaigns linked with groups openly sympathetic to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) — a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). This raises serious concerns about the credibility of her nomination and the potential politicization of the world’s most prestigious peace award.
Mahrang Baloch proclaimed herself through a tweet on her social media accounts that she has been nominated for the Noble peace awards. Kiyya Baloch followed suit and tweeted on X about her likely nomination. This was few weeks later, after her meeting with Pen Norway organization in Oslo,Norway.
Sohaib Langov, once serving as Mahrang’s bodyguard, was later identified by the BLA as one of its commanders, directly involved in attacks that killed innocent civilians. Similarly, Gulzadi — a central figure in Mahrang’s Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) — falsely portrayed her brother as a “missing person,” while in reality, he was a suicide bomber responsible for the deadly 2024 Mach attack targeting civilians and security forces. These direct associations expose how BLA-linked figures exploit human rights platforms to mask their militant ties.
Mahrang’s Nobel Prize nomination was reportedly facilitated by lobbying networks in Norway involving Kiyya Baloch, a known BLA supporter, and his organizational ties with Jørgen Watne Frydnes, a sitting member of the Nobel Committee and staff at Pen Norway. This presents a glaring conflict of interest and demonstrates how extremist-linked activism is being repackaged abroad as “human rights work.”
Mahrang currently faces legal proceedings in Pakistan on charges of incitement, unlawful gatherings, and glorifying terrorists. Instead of promoting peace, her movement emboldens narratives that glorify terrorism, undermining Pakistan’s sovereignty.
If such lobbying efforts succeed, the Nobel Prize risks being weaponized as a tool to legitimize terrorist sympathizers. The Nobel Committee must ensure its integrity by investigating lobbying networks, conflicts of interest, and the terror linkages tied to this nomination.
The Nobel Peace Prize is intended to honor individuals and movements advancing peace, reconciliation, and humanitarian values — not those influenced by lobbying networks aligned with extremist sympathizers. The case of Mahrang Baloch raises alarming questions on this very front.
