Quetta ATC grants CTD custody of former police surgeon for alleged anti-state remarks

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta has granted the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) three days to detain former police surgeon Dr Ayesha Faiz, according to a report by Dawn. Faiz was arrested following a press conference at the Quetta Press Club last week, and Home Minister Ziaullah Langau confirmed her arrest in a media statement.

The alleged anti-state remarks that led to her arrest were made during the press conference, where Faiz is accused of speaking in favor of leaders of banned terrorist organizations and praising their anti-state actions. The FIR was registered on September 1 at the Quetta Region CTD Police Station, with Station House Officer Munir Ahmed as the complainant.

The FIR accuses Faiz of membership, support, and meeting with a proscribed organization, responsibility for creating civil commotion, giving projection to any person convicted for a terrorist act or any proscribed organization, and conviction on the basis of electronic or forensic evidence. Faiz, who is a retired medico-legal officer at the Civil Hospital in Mastung, was living in Quetta at the time of her arrest.