Baloch human rights activist charged with terrorism

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police have registered a case against human rights activist Dr Mahrang Baloch on the charge of aiding separatist groups in the country’s restive Balochistan province, officials said Saturday. A fierce critic of Pakistan’s military, Baloch denied the charges, saying the case showed “how the state has grown increasingly uncomfortable” with her activism.

She was barred by immigration authorities at Karachi airport this week from boarding a flight to New York, where she was scheduled to attend a Time magazine function. Time has recognised her as one of the world’s 100 emerging leaders for her advocacy of Baloch rights.

Baloch is a leader of Baloch Yakjehti Committee that has organised sit-in protests in the past few months over disappearances and extra-judicial killings in Balochistan.

On Friday, a man named Asad Ali filed a case against her in Karachi, accusing Baloch and her group of blocking highways, levelling false accusations against security agencies, inciting Baloch youth to violence, and targeting labourers in Balochistan.

Police acted on the complaint. Their move came days after the killing of two Chinese engineers in a suicide blast in Karachi. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army had claimed responsibility.

“To continue this, Mahrang Baloch has been brought to the forefront, who brings terrorists to the cities in the form of groups during her rallies,” read the police report.

Baloch said the case against her aimed to threaten the collective struggle of Balochistan. “I will fight this in a court of law.”