Pakistan: Dozens of Baloch activists placed on Fourth Schedule under Anti-Terrorism Act

Quetta [Balochistan], November 5 (ANI): Several political and human rights activists, including relatives of victims of enforced disappearances, have been added to Pakistan's Fourth Schedule under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), reported The Balochistan Post.

According to the report, the development has prompted intense backlash from civil society and rights organisations.

The Balochistan Post reported that a recent notification issued by the Balochistan Home Department stated that the updated list was prepared to "improve law and order" and "monitor suspicious activities".

The report further revealed that those newly included on the list are Mahzaib Baloch, a human rights activist and niece of the forcibly disappeared political worker Rashid Hussain; Advocate Shahzaib Baloch, central organiser of the National Democratic Party (NDP); Imran Baloch of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) in Hub; and Arif Baloch of the Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC), along with nearly 60 other political and social figures.

As explained by The Balochistan Post, the Fourth Schedule was established under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, introduced during the government of Nawaz Sharif to counter sectarian violence, militancy, and terrorism.

Individuals placed on this list are labelled as "proscribed persons" and face restrictions such as passport bans, frozen bank accounts, prohibition of financial transactions, suspension of arms licences, and employment limitations.

The Balochistan Post further highlighted that, while the Fourth Schedule historically targeted hardcore militants and members of banned groups, its application in Balochistan has increasingly expanded to include political workers, students, and human rights activists--a shift that rights groups describe as a "disturbing misuse" of anti-terrorism laws.

According to The Balochistan Post, various human rights and political organisations have denounced the move, labelling it "an attack on democratic freedoms" and "an attempt to criminalise peaceful activism".

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), in its statement to The Balochistan Post, also condemned the decision, calling it "a deliberate effort to suppress legitimate dissent". (ANI)

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