KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday granted bail to incarcerated Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Dr Mahrang Baloch in a case pertaining to sedition and terrorism.

The ATC observed that no independent witness was cited in the case and the charge sheet was filed after an inordinate delay of around 10 months without providing any reason for the delay.

A case was registered against Dr Mahrang and her unidentified colleagues in October last year at the Quaidabad police station on charges of sedition, terrorism and an “anti-state campaign on social media at the behest of her foreign sponsors.”

After hearing both sides and perusing the material available on record, the judge of ATC-V ruled that it was a case of further inquiry and granted bail to the applicant against a surety bond of Rs100,000.

IO did not cite reason for 10-month delay in filing charge sheet against BYC leader, court remarks

Dr Mahrang, who is currently detained in Balochistan, filed the bail application through her counsel Mohammad Jibran Nasir.

Assistant Prosecutor General Sajida Qazi vehemently opposed the plea and submitted that the allegations against the applicant were of a serious nature and that the investigating officer had collected sufficient evidence, which could be produced before the court when required.

She also contended that the applicant had incited hatred against state institutions and spread seditious material with the intent to cause public unrest.

The court in its order noted that the IO was directed to produce the complainant of the case, but he did not turn up, while no independent witness was cited in the case to corroborate such allegations.

Moreover, during the investigation at the time of visiting the place of the incident, the IO neither called any private/independent witness from the locality nor made any inquiry with area residents regarding the alleged incident, it added.

The order also said that the complainant had lodged the FIR against the applicant on Oct 11, 2024, and a USB was handed over to the IO, containing speeches of the suspect after lodging the case on Oct 12, while the IO had charge-sheeted the applicant under Section 512 (record of evidence in the absence of accused) of the criminal procedure code and shown her as an absconder.

But during the arguments, the order further stated that the counsel for the applicant submitted a remand order of an ATC in Quetta, which showed that the applicant was in police custody for 15 days in a case lodged at a police station in Quetta.

“Moreover, FIR regarding alleged incident was registered against the applicant/accused on 11.10.2024, while IO submitted challan [charge-sheet] before the learned administrative, anti-terrorism courts Karachi division on 16.08.02025, after the delay of 10 months and in this regard IO has not furnished reason, why he submitted challan against the accused after delay of 10 months,” it concluded.

According to the prosecution, the case was registered on the complaint of a local businessman in Landhi, Asad Shams, against Dr Baloch and her unidentified colleagues. The businessman had alleged that he had been watching Dr Baloch’s “anti-state campaign” on social media “at the behest of her foreign sponsors”. In order to spread chaos and hatred, she and her colleagues accused state agencies of killing citizens and have also allegedly been providing cover to terrorists who hide among protesters during her rallies and conduct reconnaissance on sensitive locations, it maintained.

The FIR was lodged under Sections 124-A (sedition), 148 (rioting with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2025