Geneva, Sep 26: Kashmiri human rights activist Javed Ahmad Beigh has urged Pakistan to end what he described as the alleged misuse of anti-terror laws against activists in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB).
Speaking during the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Beigh raised concerns over the detention and alleged harassment of members of the Awami Action Committee of Gilgit-Baltistan, news agency ANI reported.
Beigh referred to the cases of AAC chairman Advocate Ehsan Ali, along with activists Nusrat Hussain, Mehboob Wali, Nafees and Mehar Ali. He alleged that the activists had been placed under the Fourth Schedule of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
According to Beigh, the legislation was being used to target voices of dissent in PoGB and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). He alleged that the AAC members were detained for nearly two months on charges of allegedly inciting violence against the Pakistani state.
While noting that some of the activists had subsequently been released, Beigh alleged that provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Fourth Schedule continued to be used to intimidate civilian voices in the region.
He called on the UNHRC to take note of the issue and urged Pakistan to end the alleged misuse of anti-terror laws and ensure that activists are not subjected to arbitrary detention or harassment.
Beigh, as per the report, also expressed solidarity with activists in PoGB and PoJK whom he said were seeking basic rights and democratic space.
