Quetta, Sep 26 (IANS) An anti-terrorism court in Quetta on Friday rejected Counter Terrorism Department’s (CTD) request to extend the physical remand of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief Mahrang Baloch and other organisers, local media reported, citing group’s lawyer.
Speaking to leading Pakistani daily Dawn, BYC legal team member Advocate Israr Jatak said, “Quetta ATC-1 refused to extend the physical remand of five accused, namely Mahrang, Bebow Baloch, Sibghatullah Shahji, Beberg Baloch and Gulzadi and ordered them to be sent to jail on judicial remand.”
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) presented Mahrang Baloch and others in court today after completion of their 15-day physical remand granted on September 11, the Dawn reported. During the hearing presided over by Judge Muhammad Ali Mubeen, advocate Shoaib Mengal and advocate Jatak were present in the court on behalf of the accused.
The CTD requested the court to extend physical remand of Mahrang Baloch. However, Judge Mubeen did not agree to the request and order handing over accused to jail custody, the report mentioned.
On September 11, a Quetta ATC judge extended the physical remand of Mahrang Baloch and other organisers of BYC after police’s request. The BYC chief was arrested under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) — a law that enables authorities to arrest and detain people suspected of posing a threat to public order — for a period of 30 days (first term).
Later in April, Balochistan Home Department extended her detention for an additional 30 days (second term). The provincial government issued a fourth extension order after the BYC leaders had completed three months in detention in June. After their detention under the MPO, cases were lodged against Mahrang Baloch and other BYC leaders under different sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Pakistan Penal Code.
On September 14, detained BYC leader Mahrang Baloch criticised Balochistan Assembly for amending the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 1997, calling it a “dangerous step” which legitimises state repression and silences opposition voices. She stated that this amendment along with June’s Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2025 will be used against peaceful activists, political workers, and opposition voices and not the violent actors.
In a statement shared on X, Baloch said, “I am appalled and outraged by the Balochistan Assembly’s decision to pass yet another set of amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 this week. Under this so-called amendment, the puppet, unelected, and very unpopular government of Balochistan claims it is protecting judges, witnesses, lawyers, and prosecutors. They say it will “provide a flexible and secure legal framework for the state to respond to evolving security challenges.” In reality, this is nothing but a dangerous step. It legitimises repression. It silences opposition voices.”
“Our greatest fear is now coming true. This amendment, together with this June’s Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2025, will not be used against violent actors but weaponised against peaceful activists, political workers, and opposition voices. This law rips away the fundamental right to a fair trial guaranteed under Article 10A of Pakistan’s constitution, and paves the way for secret, faceless courts where justice becomes a mockery,” she added.
Her statement comes after the amendment, titled the Anti-Terrorism Balochistan (Amendment) Act 2026, was presented by Parliamentary Secretary Mir Zareen Khan Magsi on behalf of the provincial home department, The Balochistan Post reported. According to officials, changes were being made to bolster the counter-terrorism framework “in line with international standards” by providing a more secure legal framework for judges, prosecutors, defence lawyers and witnesses.
Mahrang Baloch stated that over 50 targetted crackdowns have been conducted on members of the Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) since March and hundreds of activists have faced arrests, abductions or forcibly disappeared. According to her, incidents of 814 enforced disappearances have taken place between January-June.
“Balochistan’s security situation has already been marked by an intensifying crackdown on peaceful rights activists. Since March, there have been over 50 targeted crackdowns on members of the Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC). Hundreds of activists have been detained, abducted, or forcibly disappeared. Only in March, 147 people were disappeared. In April, 166 more. Between January and June alone, there were 814 enforced disappearances. That number is nearly equal to the total of the entire previous year. Students, workers, activists, and ordinary civilians are systematically targeted by the state and its agencies. At least 131 people have been killed without trial in the first six months of this year. These killings happpend through custodial torture, staged encounters, and indiscriminate military operations,” the Baloch activist posted on X.
“In just one week of September, six people from the Kech district were killed in targetted attacks by members of death squads. This is not a security policy. This is slow-motion genocide. Every single day, an average of four to five Baloch are abducted. One to three are executed or killed by security forces and their allies. At the same time, state-backed private militias, locally known as death squads, have been reactivated. These groups work hand in glove with security agencies to terrorize the civilian population. The state is waging a bloody war against the Baloch, using both legal means, such as draconian laws, and illegal means, such as death squads. Both serve the same goal: the ethnic cleansing and subjugation of the Baloch people,” she added.
–IANS
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