Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch slams Pakistan's "weaponised" anti-terror amendments

Quetta [Pakistan], September 15 (ANI): Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch has strongly condemned the recent amendments to Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, calling it a dangerous step designed to silence peaceful dissent rather than protect citizens.

In a post on X, Mahrang Baloch said, “I am appalled and outraged by the Balochistan Assembly’s decision to pass yet another set of amendments… They claim it will protect judges, witnesses, lawyers, and prosecutors, but in reality, this legitimises repression. It silences opposition voices.”

She warned that the amendment, coupled with June’s Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2025, would not be used against violent actors but “weaponised against peaceful activists, political workers, and opposition voices.” The activist further stated that the law tears apart the right to a fair trial guaranteed under Article 10A of Pakistan’s Constitution and clears the path for “secret, faceless courts where justice becomes a mockery.”

Highlighting the deteriorating security situation, Mahrang Baloch pointed to an alarming surge in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. “Since March, there have been over 50 targeted crackdowns on members of the Baloch Yekjehti Committee. Hundreds of activists have been detained, abducted, or forcibly disappeared. Between January and June alone, there were 814 enforced disappearances–almost equal to the total of the entire previous year.”

According to her, at least 131 people were killed without trial in the first six months of 2025 through custodial torture, staged encounters, and indiscriminate operations. She alleged that in September alone, six civilians from Kech district were killed in targeted attacks by state-backed militias. “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,” she said, accusing Pakistan of pursuing “slow-motion genocide.”

Calling on her community to stand firm, Mahrang Baloch declared, “The state is waging a bloody war against the Baloch using both legal and illegal means. Do not let fear occupy you. Our struggle is for justice. Our cause is righteous.” (ANI)

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