GWADAR: A woman arrested by the Counter Terrorist Department (CTD) of police on a charge of planning to conduct a suicide attack on a convoy of foreigners at a highway linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was produced before an anti-terrorism court in Turbat on Tuesday.

According to sources, CTD personnel arrested Noor Jahan Baloch on Monday along with another woman during a raid on her home in Hoshab town of Kech district after receiving information that she is planning for a suicide attack on foreigners. The other woman was identified as Shaina.

The CTD has claimed that Noor Jahan belongs to Majeed Brigade group of the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). CTD officials claimed that during the raid on her home on the outskirts of Hoshab town, a suicide jacket, 87kg of explosive substance and equipment used for suicide attack were found.

The CTD officials informed the court that Noor Jahan wore a suicide jacket when the personnel raided her home and that she was overpowered by female personnel of the department.

A man, identified as Fazal, was also produced before the court along with the woman.

A senior lawyer, who appeared before the ATC on behalf of the arrested woman, said the court after the initial hearing asked the CTD officials to produce her before the court along with a complete record of the case after two days.

According to the lawyer, the court also ordered that the suspect be kept at the CTD police station and be allowed to meet her family members and close relatives during her stay at the police station.

He said Noor Jahan told the court that she was allegedly tortured during custody. A panel of lawyers, comprising Nazimuddin, Jaden Dashti, Abdul Latif Advocate, Mehrab Gichki and other senior lawyers, represented her in the court.

Earlier, hundreds of people, including women and children, blocked the highway between Turbat and Hoshab town of Kech district in protest against the arrest of the two women.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2022