QUETTA: An FIR has been registered against Opposition leader and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai over his speech at the May 29 Chaman jalsa, with authorities calling the action justified and overdue to maintain public order in the sensitive border town.
The case stems from remarks delivered in Chaman, an area already strained by smuggling networks and long-running ethnic tensions. During the address, Achakzai referred to banned BLA terrorists as “freedom fighters,” praised individuals who “speak the language of bullets,” and floated the idea of forming personal militias.
Officials say such language crossed legal and constitutional red lines. Security analysts describe the speech as consistent with Achakzai’s decades-long pattern of ethnic grievance politics mixed with anti-state posturing.
By glorifying the Balochistan Liberation Army, a proscribed organization responsible for numerous attacks on civilians and infrastructure, he risked legitimizing violence at a time when national cohesion is critical.
The administration maintains that free speech does not extend to shielding terrorist groups or inciting unrest in volatile regions. Officials argue the FIR reflects the state’s duty to prevent hateful rhetoric from escalating into bloodshed.
They add that romanticizing militancy while ordinary citizens bear the cost of terrorism undermines both Baloch and Pashtun rights and demoralizes state institutions. By moving against Achakzai, authorities say they are sending a clear message that no leader is above the law when their words threaten Pakistan’s integrity and public safety. The case will now proceed through legal channels as investigations continue.
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