QUETTA: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday granted the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) a three-day physical remand of former police surgeon Dr Ayesha Faiz.
She was arrested a few days ago, following a press conference in Quetta Press Club last week. Home Minister Ziaullah Langau had also confirmed her arrest in a media statement.
On Monday, ATC Judge Muhammad Ali Mubeen, after hearing the arguments of CTD officials, remanded the former police surgeon into the department’s custody for three days.
The first information report (FIR), dated September 1 was registered at the Quetta Region CTD Police Station, with Station House Officer (SHO) Munir Ahmed as the complainant.
It invoked sections 11F(4) and (6) (membership, support and meetings relating to a proscribed organisation), Section 11X(3) (responsibility for creating civil commotion), 11W (giving projection to any person convicted for a terrorist act or any proscribed organisation or anyone concerned in terrorism), and 27B (conviction on the basis of electronic or forensic evidence etc) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
The FIR identified Dr Faiz as a retired medico-legal officer at the Civil Hospital, and a resident of Mastung who was currently living in Quetta.
According to the FIR, the complainant was browsing social media when he came across a video clip on a Facebook account of Faiz’s press conference held the day before.
The FIR accused her of “speaking in favour of leaders” of banned terrorist organisations and praising their anti-state actions. Therefore, it claimed, she “spread false propaganda against the armed forces of Pakistan”.
The aforementioned video was downloaded onto a USB flash drive, which was taken into police custody as case property, the FIR stated.
During her press conference last week, Faiz had also reportedly criticised the Balochistan chief minister and home minister for their statements about cutting of orchards.
Speaking on the floor of the Balochistan Assembly on Saturday, CM Sarfraz Bugti said the authorities were planning to temporarily relocate around 1,000 people living in a nomadic settlement in the mountainous Shor Parod area of Mastung district to facilitate a security operation against terrorists.
He said if terrorists used private properties, including orchards, houses, shops or hotels, as hideouts or launching points for attacks, the state could not ignore the situation.
