Pakistan Passes Law Allowing 90-Day Detention of Baloch on Suspicion

Pakistan has enacted a new bill in Balochistan authorising security agencies to hold citizens for a maximum of 90 days without any charges, evoking scathing criticism from human rights activists, Baloch activists, and lawyers.

The bill, the Counter-Terrorism (Balochistan Amendment) Act 2025, grants far-reaching powers to the military and intelligence agencies to detain civilians on the basis of mere suspicion alone. Opponents say it legalises years of abuse and enforced disappearances in the restive province.

Law Evades Judicial Oversight

The recently passed amended law gives Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) the power to issue detention orders and engage in ideological profiling. It permits arrests and seizures of property without the use of court oversight. Military personnel will also now occupy oversight panels, eliminating civilian oversight of law enforcement.

Legal scholars have raised that the law circumvents fundamental legal protection. Activists contend that the measure de facto eliminates judicial accountability and legitimizes human rights violations under the cover of counter-terrorism.

Enforced Disappearances Now Legal?

Balochistan has had a dark history of enforced disappearances for years. Relatives have waited decades without knowing anything about the whereabouts of their disappeared loved ones. Activists now claim the new law enshrines this systematic repression.

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a prominent civil rights organization, commented, “This Act turns Balochistan into a legalised detention zone.” The BYC accused Islamabad of driving the province towards complete militarisation and tearing down civilian safeguards.

Parallels With Global Repression

The BYC likened the legislation to tactics employed by Nazi Germany and China’s Xinjiang province. The group warned that ideological profiling and random detention produce an environment of pervasive fear.

Activists further pointed out that the law is a breach of Article 10 of the Constitution of Pakistan and contravenes Pakistan’s commitment under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The BYC called on the United Nations, human rights monitors, and global civil society to act. In its call, the organization stated, “Silence now is complicity.” As the law comes into force, Baloch citizens are confronted with the bleak reality of being under perpetual monitoring, indiscriminate arrests, and dwindling legal remedies.