QUETTA, Pakistan: Pakistan extended the detention of the most prominent rights activist of the Baloch minority for 30 days on Monday after she was charged with “terrorism,” “sedition” and “murder,” her lawyer told AFP.
Mahrang Baloch, 32, has long campaigned for the Baloch ethnic group, which claims it is targeted with harassment and extrajudicial killings in the Balochistan province. The state denies involvement.
She was detained on March 22 for 30 days but “the government has issued another notification ordering to detain her for 30 days more,” her lawyer Imran Baloch said.
A dozen UN experts called on Pakistan in March to immediately release Baloch rights defenders, including Mahrang, and to end the repression of their peaceful protests.
The judiciary declined to rule on her detention a week ago, effectively halting any further judicial appeal and placing the matter solely in the hands of the provincial government of Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
Mahrang took part in a sit-in protest in the provincial capital, Quetta, in March to demand the release of members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, a group she founded to organize protests.
Since 2009, Baloch protesters have gathered in the vast and mineral-rich province — where 70 percent of the population lives in poverty — demanding justice for what they claim are extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary detentions.
Pakistani authorities reject these as “baseless allegations.”
Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, with militants targeting state forces and foreign nationals.
Separatists accusing outsiders of plundering the province’s natural resources launched a dramatic train siege in March in which officials said about 60 people were killed, half of whom were assailants.
Mahrang was barred from traveling to the United States last year to attend a TIME magazine “rising leaders” awards gala.
Pakistan extends detention for ethnic rights activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch
https://arab.news/jum3j
Pakistan extends detention for ethnic rights activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch
- Detention of the most prominent rights activist of the Baloch minority extended for 30 days
- Baloch was charged with “terrorism,” “sedition,” “murder” after she took part in sit-in protest last month
Pakistan reviews austerity measures amid Middle East crisis, urges strict nationwide implementation
- Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chairs review meeting of austerity steps
- Officials briefed on salary cuts, school closures, four‑day week, petrol conservation
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government on Wednesday assessed progress on a sweeping set of austerity measures introduced to mitigate the country’s economic strain from sharply rising global oil prices and supply disruptions linked to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week announced a series of austerity steps, including a four‑day work week for government offices, requiring 50 percent of staff to work from home, cutting fuel allowances for official vehicles by half, grounding up to 60 percent of the government fleet and closing all schools for two weeks to conserve fuel amid the global oil crisis.
The measures were unveiled in response to global oil market volatility triggered by the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which has disrupted supply routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and pushed crude prices sharply higher, straining Pakistan’s heavily import‑dependent energy sector.
“The meeting stressed the importance of strict and transparent adherence to the austerity measures, promoting fiscal responsibility and prudent use of public resources,” Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar said in a statement.
He was chairing a meeting of the Committee for Monitoring and Implementation of Conservation and Additional Austerity Measures, constituted under the directions of the PM, bringing together federal and provincial officials to review execution of the broad cost‑cutting plan.
Dar emphasized the government’s commitment to enforcing the PM’s austerity steps nationwide. The committee’s review also covered reductions in departmental expenditure, deductions from salaries of senior officials earning over Rs. 300,000 ($1,120), and coordination with provincial administrations to ensure uniform implementation of the plan.
Participants at the meeting reiterated that all ministries and divisions must continue strict monitoring and reporting, with transparent oversight mechanisms, as Pakistan navigates the economic pressures from the prolonged Middle East crisis and its fallout on global energy and trade markets.
