QUETTA: Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Dr. Sabiha Baloch has said that more than a hundred people across Balochistan were added to Pakistan’s Fourth Schedule and Exit Control List (ECL) during September and October, calling it an alarming misuse of anti-terrorism laws to suppress dissent.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Dr. Baloch stated that since the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) assumed power in Balochistan, the abuse of anti-terrorism legislation has intensified. “These laws are being weaponized against political opponents and human rights activists,” she said.
According to Dr. Baloch, she herself has been placed on the ECL and has received an official government summons. She added that along with her, Sami Deen Baloch, Shali Baloch of the Baloch Women’s Forum, other members of the BYC, as well as 32 citizens from Dera Bugti, 26 from Dalbandin, and several others from Kech, Khuzdar, Kharan, Kalat, and Mangochar, have all been added to the Fourth Schedule, a section of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act used to restrict movement and monitor individuals accused of extremist activity.
Dr. Sabiha Baloch warned that the practice represents a deepening crackdown on peaceful political and rights-based activism in Balochistan. “We are witnessing a surge in enforced disappearances, and now hundreds of citizens are being blacklisted under so-called terrorism watchlists,” she said.
She further cautioned that if the misuse of anti-terror laws is not confronted today, it could have “dangerous implications for the entire country in the future.”
Human rights groups have long criticized Pakistan’s use of the Fourth Schedule and ECL as tools to stifle political dissent, particularly in Balochistan, where activists and journalists frequently face intimidation, arbitrary detention, and travel bans.
