Amnesty International has accused Pakistani authorities of increasingly misusing administrative detention laws to silence peaceful dissent and restrict civic space, calling for the immediate release of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Zubair Shah Agha, Baloch activist Syed Bibi Baloch and journalist Ahmad Farhad.
In a post on X, the rights organisation said Zubair Shah Agha, a member of the PTM core committee, was arbitrarily detained on June 28 shortly after attending a press conference in Quetta organised by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). The press conference was held in connection with the sentencing of prominent Baloch rights activist Mahrang Baloch.
Amnesty said Agha has since been detained under Section 3 of Pakistan's Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, a provision that allows authorities to place individuals in administrative detention. The organisation described the case as part of a wider pattern in which the MPO is allegedly being used to deprive activists, journalists and human rights defenders of their liberty without proper due process.
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The rights group also raised concerns over the detention of Syed Bibi Baloch, who was taken into custody under the same law on July 1 in Turbat, Balochistan. According to Amnesty, her detention followed the announcement of a peaceful protest against the sentencing of Mahrang Baloch.
The organisation further cited the case of journalist Ahmad Farhad, who was detained under the MPO on June 20 in Bagh, Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). Amnesty said Farhad continues to remain in custody.
Expressing alarm over what it called the growing use of administrative detention powers against dissenting voices, Amnesty International urged Pakistani authorities to immediately release all three detainees.
The organisation also called on Islamabad to stop using administrative detention laws against people exercising their fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and personal liberty. Amnesty said the detention of activists and journalists for taking part in peaceful activities undermines Pakistan's human rights obligations and further narrows the space for civic and political dissent.
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