BYC leader Sammi Deen Baloch challenges detention in SHC

• Semmi Deen moves SHC against 30-day detention.
• BYC leader apprehended for violating Section 144.
• Despite court’s order, Deen was detained under MPO.

KARACHI: Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Sammi Deen Baloch challenged her 30-day detention in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday, a day after she was apprehended during a protest against the arrest of the movement's leadership in Balochistan.

A two-member bench will hear the petition tomorrow, according to the petitioner's counsel.

Karachi police, a day earlier, apprehended Sammi and several others for violating Section 144, using force to disperse their demonstration as the BYC pressed on with its protest.

However, as soon as a judicial magistrate ordered her release, police attempted to rearrest her, leading to resistance from lawyers present at the court. Shortly after, they detained the Baloch leader from the court premises and shifted her to jail for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

According to the Sindh Home Department, the decision was made on the recommendation of Inspector General (IG) Sindh, citing security concerns.

Officials alleged that Sammi, along with Abdul Wahab Baloch, Raza Ali, and others, was inciting road blockades and sit-ins, which could disrupt law and order in the city.

The department further stated that the presence of the detained individuals in public places posed a potential threat to peace and stability.

According to Sammi’s lawyer, Jibran Nasir, police attempted to detain her under the MPO ordinance. “The learned judicial magistrate discharged all five accused in the FIR registered yesterday,” Jibran wrote in a post on X.

“As soon as the accused were discharged and ordered to be released, the police started waving the MPO order. While Sammi surrendered and willfully gave her arrest, the whereabouts of four others, Lala Wahab, Raziq, Sultan, and Shahdad, are unknown,” he added.

It must be noted that the BYC had announced a protest at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) against the “illegal detention” of its top leaders, including Dr Mahrang Baloch.

Mahrang was taken into custody on Saturday, along with 16 other activists from their protest camp in Quetta, a day after they alleged police of beating up three of their protestors to death during an anti-riot action.