A global human rights organization has called on Pakistani authorities to release Pashtun leader Zubair Shah Agha, Baloch activist Syed Bibi Baloch, and journalist Ahmad Farhad. The group demands an end to the misuse of administrative detention laws against peaceful dissent and advocates for the protection of liberty, freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly. Zubair Shah Agha, a member of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), was detained on June 28 under Pakistan’s Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO) after attending a press conference in Quetta.
Amnesty International reports that Zubair Agha’s detention is part of a concerning trend where Pakistani authorities use administrative detention powers to restrict activists, journalists, and human rights defenders. Syed Bibi Baloch, another activist, was detained under the MPO on July 1 in Balochistan’s Turbat region following a planned peaceful protest. The arrest of Bibi Baloch has drawn criticism from various human rights organizations, denouncing it as a crackdown on peaceful activists.
Additionally, journalist Ahmad Farhad was also detained under the MPO on June 20 in Bagh city, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Ireland-based rights group Front Line Defenders has joined the call for Farhad’s immediate release and the withdrawal of all charges against him. The organization condemns the repression in PoK, emphasizing that such actions are part of a broader pattern of violence against individuals advocating for human rights and challenging state-sponsored misinformation.
