QUETTA: The deputy commissioner has issued a list carrying the names of 137 people placed by the government on the Fourth Schedule under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

According to a notification issued on Tuesday, political activists, leaders of student organisations, writers and even government employees figure in the list.

The official notification said their names were put on the list due to their alleged lin­ks with banned Baloch­is­tan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehrik-i-Tali­ban Pakistan (TTP). “Three of them were inc­lu­ded in the Fourth Schedule list for links with TTP and 134 for links with banned BLA,” the notification said.

According to the notification, the names were finalised during a meeting chaired by Quetta deputy commissioner Saad Bin Asad on July 23. Members of district intelligence and coordination committees attended the meeting.

The government had decided to put the names of 300 people belonging to different groups on the fourth schedule list under the anti-terrorism law. The list includes the na­­m­es of Balaach Qadir Balo­­ch, Samand Baloch and Shakoor Baloch of Baloch Students Organisation.

The name of Bohir Saleh, the chief of another BSO faction that is affiliated with the National Party, was also placed on the list.

Balaach Qadir Baloch confirmed that he and two other officer-bearers of BSO were included in the Fourth Schedule list. “We were asked to report to the Counter Terrorism Dep­artment, but we did not do so,” Balaach Qadir said.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2024