Javed Ahmad Beigh urges UN to address misuse of anti-terror laws in PoGB

During the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, human rights defender Javed Ahmad Beigh raised concerns regarding the detention and harassment of activists in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB).

Beigh alleged that Pakistan is misusing the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, specifically its Fourth Schedule, to suppress dissent in both PoGB and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). He highlighted the case of Ehsan Ali, Chairman of the Awami Action Committee, and several others who were reportedly incarcerated for nearly two months on charges of inciting violence, which Beigh described as false and fraudulent.

While noting that some leaders have been released, Beigh warned that these legal frameworks continue to be used to intimidate civilian voices. He called on the UNHRC to take immediate cognizance of the frequent illegal incarceration of activists in the region.