Latest news with #MaintenanceofPublicOrder
Express Tribune
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Intelligence panels set to get more powers
The Punjab government has prepared a draft of legislation to provide enhanced powers to intelligence committees at the district, divisional and provincial levels to combat threats to public security. According to the Punjab Home Department, the proposed Mehfooz Punjab Act 2025 is aimed at strengthening law and order in the province through the comprehensive legal framework designed to tighten the noose around disruptive elements while ensuring constitutional safeguards. The draft law introduces sweeping changes to the existing security apparatus by empowering the intelligence committees with unprecedented authority. Under the proposed act, individuals deemed threats to public order can be placed in preventive detention for up to 90 days. The legislation also allows for blocking of passports and national identity cards of such persons, along with recommendations to freeze their bank accounts and place them on no-fly lists. In more severe cases, the committees may recommend seizure of immovable properties and forwarding cases to federal agencies for further action. A three-tiered intelligence committee structure forms the backbone of the proposed system. At the provincial level, the committee will be headed by the Punjab home secretary and include the inspector general of police, special aecretary for interior, additional IG of special branch, additional IG of counter-terrorism department (CTD) and representatives from sensitive federal agencies. The divisional committees will be led by the commissioners with representation from regional police officers, SP of apecial branch, divisional CTD officers and federal agencies' representatives. District committees will operate under deputy commissioners with district police officers, DSPs of special branch, CTD officers and federal representatives as members. The draft legislation proposes strict penalties for violations, with imprisonment ranging from three to five years and fines worth Rs5 million million for non-compliance with directives. To ensure checks and balances, the act proposes the formation of a provincial review board headed by the Lahore High Court chief justice and comprising current or former judges. The board will oversee detentions exceeding three months, providing judicial oversight to prevent potential misuse of powers. One of the most significant provisions involves the authority to proscribe organisations and list their members in the 'Fourth Schedule'. The district intelligence committees will have powers equivalent to the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law of1960, but with an expanded scope and stricter enforcement mechanisms.
Express Tribune
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Govt threatens arrest if Akhtar Mengal enters Quetta
Police vehicles are parked outside the Lakpass Tunnel as authorities block the entrance with shipping containers during a sit-in protest by the BNP-M on the outskirts of Quetta. Photo: AFP A day after warning Sardar Akhtar Mengal's BNP against entering the red zone of the provincial capital as part of its ongoing protest, the provincial government announced on Sunday that it would arrest the BNP chief if he attempted to enter Quetta. Mengal, leading the BNP's long march, had vowed to reach Quetta on April 6 (Sunday) to protest against the alleged enforced disappearances of political workers in Balochistan and the arrest of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders, including Dr Mahrang Baloch. According to the provincial government, two rounds of talks were held with BNP leadership, during which they were asked to hold their protest at Quetta's Shahwani Stadium. However, the party had refused, and insisted on marching to the city's red zone. Addressing a press conference ahead of the scheduled protest on Saturday, Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said strict legal action will be taken against any violations of the law. "The government is showing restraint, but any attempt to breach Section 144 or provoke unrest will be met with a firm response," Rind had said. Meanwhile, the administration placed containers on entry routes and stationed a large number of security forces personnel to effectively prevent BNP leaders and workers from entering the city. On Sunday, Rind took to social media platform X, warning that BNP chief Akhtar Mengal would be arrested if he attempted to enter Quetta. "The administration informed Mengal at 6:00 am about the orders issued under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO), but he refused to surrender. If he enters Quetta, they will be arrested," Rind wrote, adding that law enforcement personnel had been deployed to enforce order. The government also criticized the party's call to block national highways, describing it as an attempt to disrupt daily life and increase public suffering. Shahid Rind said clear instructions had been issued to all district administrations that no highway would be allowed to be closed. Meanwhile, residents across Balochistan expressed concerns over possible travel disruptions. In a separate post, the BNP shared a video claiming that law enforcement agencies had fired shells at a gathering of party workers at Quetta's Sona Khan Chowk. White smoke was seen rising in the distance in the footage shared online. Earlier, Mengal had also posted on X, stating that he and his supporters were surrounded by security forces at Lak Pass and that a major operation seemed imminent. In response, the BNP announced protests across the province, alleging that the current government had launched a crackdown on its leaders and workers.
Arab News
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan province releases prominent Baloch rights activist following outcry
KARACHI: The government in Pakistan's southern Sindh province this week released prominent rights defender Sammi Deen Baloch, a notification from the provincial home department said, following criticism from members of the civil society and human rights activists. Baloch and several others from the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) group were arrested by Sindh Police last Monday evening and charged with violating a ban imposed on public gatherings after they held a demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club. After a judicial magistrate ordered her release, the Sindh Home Department issued an order detaining her for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (PMO) ordinance, alleging that her presence in public can cause a 'grave threat' to people's safety. The BYC was protesting against the detention of its leader, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, and some other members who were arrested last month at a protest camp in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province. Three persons had died following clashes between police and protesters, leading both sides to blame each other for the deaths. 'In partial modification to this department's order of even number dated 25.03.2025 regarding detention under section 3 (1) of the Sindh Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, the name of Ms. Semi Din Baloch D/o. Dr. Din Muhammad Baloch is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect,' the home department said in a notification on Tuesday. 'The Senior Superintendent, Central Prison Karachi is hereby directed to release the above-named detainee if she is not required in any other case or otherwise.' Baloch's sister, Mehlab Deen Baloch, confirmed her release in a post on social media platform X on Tuesday. 'My sister, Sammi Deen, has finally been released, and I cannot express my gratitude enough,' she wrote on X, thanking rights activists, members of the civil society and others for demanding her release. Days following her arrest, over a dozen independent UN experts called on the government to release Baloch rights activists. The BYC and other Baloch rights activists have organized several large protests in Balochistan and led marches to, and sit-ins in, the Pakistani federal capital, Islamabad, mainly against what they describe as a surge in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan. They blame the army and other security forces operating in the province for the alleged crimes. Officials deny the accusations. Balochistan has also been plagued by enforced disappearances for decades. Families say men are picked up by security forces, disappear often for years, and are sometimes found dead, with no official explanation. Government and security officials deny involvement and say they are working for the uplift of the province through development projects. Pakistan's military has a huge presence in the rugged, impoverished region bordering Afghanistan and Iran, where insurgent groups have been fighting for a separate homeland for decades to win a larger share of benefits for the resource-rich province. The military has long run intelligence-based operations against insurgent groups, who have escalated attacks in recent months on the military and nationals from longtime ally China, which is building key projects in the region, including a port at Gwadar. International rights bodies like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as well as opposition political parties have also long highlighted enforced disappearances targeting students, activists, journalists and human rights defenders in Balochistan. The army says many of Balochistan's so-called disappeared have links to separatists. Military spokespersons have also variously accused rights movements like the BYC of being 'terrorist proxies.'
Express Tribune
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
LHC larger bench to hear MPO case on 7th
The Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice, Aalia Neelum, has formed a larger bench to hear a plea filed by the government against suspension of a detention law, the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960. A day earlier, on Thursday, CJ Aalia Neelum reserved her order while hearing an application for an early hearing of a petition filed against the LHC's last year's order. The CJ unveiled her order on Friday, announcing formation of a larger bench to hear the government appeal. The LHC on Nov 1, 2024 temporarily restrained the deputy commissioners (DCs) in Punjab from issuing further detention orders under section 3 of the MPO Ordinance 1960. Justice Muhammad Amjad Rafiq passed the order while hearing a petition filed by a PTI leader At the last hearing of the case, PTI's counsel Azhar Siddique had raised objection to the bench comprising Justice Neelum, contending that the matter was still pending in the court of Justice Rafiq. He argued that the bench comprising the CJ did not have the jurisdiction to hear this case. He said Justice Rafiq had already examined the case in great detail. "Justice Amjad Rafiq had issued a stay order in accordance with the law," he said. The CJ remarked that Justice Rafiq was currently hearing cases at the LHC's Multan Registry. Siddique argued that the bench of Justice Amjad Rafiq was in Lahore on March 21 and the case cannot be listed before this bench. The CJ, however, rejected his contention, asking him to "keep quiet". She later reserved her order in the case amid protest by the counsel.
Express Tribune
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Family can meet BYC chief in jail
The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Tuesday permitted the family of detained activist Dr Mahrang Baloch to visit her in prison. A two-member bench, comprising Justices Rozi Khan Barraich and Shaukat Ali Rakhshani, heard a petition filed by her sister, Nadia Baloch, challenging her detention. The court accepted the petition and issued notices to the relevant authorities, granting them a week to provide case details. Dr Baloch was arrested under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO), which her lawyer argued, violated constitutional rights. The court found the matter worth reviewing and approved a request allowing her family and legal counsel to meet her at the District Jail in Quetta. Dr Baloch, the chief organiser of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), was taken into custody along with her several supporters after a clash with the police on Sariab Road near the Balochistan University in Quetta last Friday. The police, in response to stone-pelting by the BYC protesters, used tear gas, water cannons and blank shots to disperse them. The BYC accused the police of using "excessive force against protesters and killing three people and injuring dozens". Provincial government spokesman Shahid Rind, however, refuted the allegations, stating that the protesters resorted to stone-pelting and unprovoked violence, injuring several police officers, including a female constable. Subsequently, Dr Baloch, who was leading the protest, issued a call for a shutter-down strike across the province. However, in the wee hours of Saturday, Dr Baloch was arrested, along with 17 other protesters – 10 men and seven women. Meanwhile, the Sindh government on Tuesday detained Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Sammi Deen Baloch and four others for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) following the group's protest in Karachi.
