Paank slams Balochistan Anti-Terror Bill, cites surge in rights abuses

Geneva [Switzerland], June 6 (ANI): Paank categorically denounces the Balochistan Assembly's passage of the Anti-Terrorism (Balochistan Amendment) Bill 2025, which exacerbates the region's human rights crisis.

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According to Paank's post on X, this legislation runs the risk of legitimising state-sponsored abuses by giving the military, paramilitary, intelligence services, and police broad authority to detain people on suspicion for a maximum of three months, with possible extensions under Article 10 of the Constitution.

It solidifies a fear-based environment in which civilian expression and political criticism are routinely repressed under the guise of counterterrorism.

"Balochistan has long endured severe human rights violations, exemplified by enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture. For instance, families have reported loved ones, including activists and students, being abducted by security forces without legal recourse, often leaving them in anguish for years. In 2025 alone, the Paank documented over sixty-six cases of extrajudicial killings of individuals previously in state custody," Paank's post stated on X.

"Peaceful protests, such as those led by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), have faced violent crackdowns, with security forces firing on demonstrators, as seen in the July 2024 Gwadar gathering where 14 were injured," stated Paank's post on X.

"The Maintenance of Public Order (3MPO) Ordinance has been a key tool in silencing dissent, notably used against BYC leadership. In March 2025, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, a prominent BYC leader and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, along with activists Bebarg Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch, Beebow Baloch, and Shahji Sibghatullah, were detained under 3MPO during a non-violent protest in Quetta," the post stated.

"These detentions, lacking legal justification, were challenged in the Balochistan High Court, which reserved its verdict on April 11, 2025, but later dismissed petitions, raising concerns about judicial independence. Reports confirm severe mistreatment in custody, including the forcible removal of Beebow Baloch from Huda Jail by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on April 23, 2025, where she was beaten and transferred to an undisclosed location before being moved to Pishin Jail," as per the post.

"Family visits revealed visible signs of physical abuse on detainees, prompting widespread protests and condemnations from human rights groups and legal associations across Balochistan", the post claimed.

Paank is committed to supporting the BYC and the Baloch people, whose nonviolent protests against state violence and enforced disappearances have been suppressed. Human rights advocates, civil society, and the international community should demand that the Anti-Terrorism Bill 2025 be immediately repealed, that activists who have been jailed be released, and that an impartial inquiry into human rights abuses in Balochistan be conducted.

For justice and dignity to be restored, the systematic targeting of activists and civilians must stop. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)