Baloch human rights activist accused of terrorism | India News – Times of India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police have filed a complaint against human rights activist Dr Mahrang Baloch on charges of aiding separatist groups in the restive Balochistan province, officials said Saturday. Baloch, a fierce critic of Pakistan’s military, denied the allegations and said the case showed “how the state is increasingly uncomfortable” with its activism.
This week, she was banned by immigration authorities at Karachi airport from boarding a flight to New York, where she was due to attend a Time magazine meeting. Time has recognized her as one of the world’s top 100 emerging leaders for her advocacy for Baloch rights.
Baloch is a leader of Baloch Yakjehti Committee which has been organizing sit-in protests over disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan in recent months.
On Friday, a man named Asad Ali filed a case against her in Karachi, accusing Baloch and her group of blocking highways, leveling false accusations against security forces, inciting violence among Baloch youth and attacking workers in Balochistan.
The police took action based on the complaint. Their action came days after the killing of two Chinese engineers in a suicide bombing in Karachi. The banned Baloch Liberation Army had claimed responsibility.
“To continue this, Mahrang Baloch has been brought to the fore, who during her rallies brings terrorists in the form of groups to the cities,” the police report said.
Baloch said the case against her was aimed at threatening the collective struggle of Balochistan. “I will fight this in court.”