New Delhi: Days after Baloch insurgents hijacked a train carrying military personnel in Pakistan, the government has intensified its crackdown on dissent, targeting activists and journalists who have criticised its handling of the Balochistan train hijacking.
As part of the crackdown, Washington-based investigative journalist Ahmad Noorani and advocate Shafiq Ahmad have been served with First Information Reports (FIRs) under the amended Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, for tweets critical of the government following the incident.
The charges include spreading fake news, promoting anti-state propaganda and attempting to incite public hatred against national institutions.
The FIR against Ahmed Noorani reportedly accuses him of spreading false information and inciting public sentiment against state institutions through his social media accounts. It also alleges that Noorani used his verified social media accounts to promote a banned organisation and conduct propaganda aimed at eroding public trust in national institutions.
ThePrint reached Ahmed Noorani via via calls and text messages. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Shafiq Ahmad, a vocal activist currently in exile, said he was notified about the FIR filed against him by the Pakistan government for “defaming state institutions” and “glorifying terrorism”.
The night before he received the FIR—accessed by ThePrint —Shafiq Ahmad had shared a few posts on X on the Pakistan Army’s alleged killing of Baloch separatists who had hijacked the train.
In these posts, he accused the Pakistan Army’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), of spreading lies to save itself from criticism over events in Balochistan.
In the FIR filed by the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) Friday, he is accused “of glorifying the banned outfit/proscribed organization, i.e., Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and their terrorist activities”, and “clearly fanning insurgency in the state and a mischievous act of subversion to damage the State of Pakistan”.
The crackdown comes after Pakistan’s parliament passed a bill in January to amend the already controversial PECA. The bill was passed within 24 hours by the National Assembly in an unusual display of urgency—despite a walkout by opposition leaders and journalists.
The amendments grant the government sweeping powers to regulate social media. Penalties include up to 3 years in prison and a fine of up to Rs 20 lakh for spreading fake news. It also prohibits sharing statements from banned organisations or their members, and broadens the definition of social media platforms to include any online information management systems.
“The Pakistani military always resorts to filing cases, abductions, or torture against critics in order to cover up its own failures. After the attack by Baloch insurgents on the Jaffar Express and the killing of hundreds of its soldiers, instead of understanding the real issue of Balochistan, it is filing cases against activists,” Shafiq Ahmad told ThePrint.
This is not the first time he has faced charges. He has over 10 FIRs filed against him for his criticism of the government and military.
The hijack took place last week when militants from the separatist BLA targeted the Jaffar Express, a train carrying 440 passengers, by blowing up the track in Dhadar, a remote area in the Bolan district. The attackers took control of the train and held passengers, including military personnel, hostage in several groups, sparking a tense stand-off with security forces.
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Shafiq Ahmad has long been a target of the state
Despite reports of journalists and activists being targeted by intelligence agencies, the military and government have denied involvement in such actions.
Pakistan ranked poorly on global press freedom indices. In 2024, it fell two spots to 152nd out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), down from 150 in the 2023 index.
Shafiq Ahmad has long been a target of the state. His activism, particularly his criticism of military interference in politics and the alleged manipulation of the 2018 elections, has led to repeated harassment. In December 2019, he was allegedly abducted, tortured, and held for weeks by men believed to be working for Pakistan’s intelligence services.
In April 2019, he was accused of posting “defamatory content against Pakistan’s agencies”, but the case stalled. In June, he was allegedly abducted, beaten and forced to stop his social media activity, before being dumped 50 km away from his home.
His abductors allegedly recorded a video of him naked, coerced him into promising not to criticise anyone on social media, and threatened to make the video public and kill him if he resumed activism. He was detained again in December for 2 weeks after continuing his work.
“It is a crime to speak up on the atrocities such as extrajudicial killings and the enforced disappearances by the Pakistan establishment. After the attack on the Jaffar Express, the entire world has started to see the future of Balochistan clearly that the relationship between Pakistan and Balochistan has now come to an end,” Shafiq Ahmad said.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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