KARACHI: A case on terrorism and sedition charges has been registered against Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch, police said on Saturday. Dr Baloch, who had been in the news for the past few months for leading protests over enforced disappearances in Balochistan, has called the case fabricated.

The complaint was filed by a local businessman in Landhi, Asad Shams, with the Quaidabad police station, against Dr Baloch and her unidentified colleagues, SHO Farast Shah said. The complainant said he had been watching Ms Baloch’s “anti-state campaign” on social media “at the behest of her foreign sponsors”.

As per the FIR, to spread chaos and hatred, she and her colleagues accused state agencies of killing citizens. She has also been accused of providing cover to terrorists who hide among protesters during her rallies and “conduct reconnaissance on sensitive locations”. The terrorists then target Chinese nationals to undermine stability in the country, he claimed.

The FIR has been registe­red under sections 124A (se­­dition), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (un­­lawful assembly), 153A (promoting enmity bet­ween different groups), 500 (defamation) and Sec­­tion 7 (terrorism) of the ATA, 1997.

Ms Baloch said the FIR aimed to threaten the collective struggle of the Baloch nation, adding that she would “remain determined and unafraid of these coercive actions,” Dawn.com reported.

In a post on her X account, the BYC leader said her “peaceful activism” will not be deterred by these “illegal, unconstitutional and coercive tactics”.

“These measures are part of a systematic campaign not only to harass me but also to divert attention from the ongoing failure of security agencies to maintain law and order, therefore they keep shifting blame for their failures onto others,” she added.

“I will fight this in a court of law,” she said.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2024