May 29, 2025
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
Journalist and political activist Sher Nadir Shahi was arrested in Gilgit on Thursday, May 29,after a local court revoked his pre-arrest bail in a case involving incitement against state institutions.
Shahi was among several activists named in a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Gilgit Airport Police Station for participating in a May 7 rally protesting the exploitation of the region’s land and mineral resources. The demonstration was organized by the Gilgit-Baltistan Awami Action Committee (GB-AAC) to highlight the region’s rights issues and mobilize support ahead of a planned grand jirga scheduled for May 24-25.
The FIR included charges under Sections 34, 123A, 153, and 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code, as well as Sections 6 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
In a crackdown on May 14, the Gilgit-Baltistan police arrested six AAC leaders, including Chairman Ehsan Ali, Vice Chairman Mehboob Ali, Finance Secretary Masud-ur-Rehman, Youth Secretary Asghar Shah, Media Secretary Waheed Hassan, and activists Irfan Azad and Manzar Maya. They were detained under anti-terrorism laws for alleged anti-state activities and hate speech during recent Pakistan-India border tensions. The FIR named 16 AAC leaders in total.
Following the arrests, protests erupted in Hunza, Gilgit, and Skardu, with demonstrators demanding the immediate release of the detained leaders. The AAC claimed the arrests were an attempt to disrupt the upcoming jirga, which was intended to address concerns over the ownership of the region’s natural resources. An anti-terrorism court in Gilgit subsequently remanded the six leaders to judicial custody until June 2.
Four other political activists—Karakoram National Movement (KNM) Chairman Mumtaz Hussain Nagri, KNM leader Tauruf Abbas Advocate, Balawaristan National Front (BNF) leader Muhammad Nafees, and Awami Workers Party (AWP) Gilgit-Baltistan General Secretary Sher Nadir Shahi—had initially secured pre-arrest bail in the same case. However, on Thursday, the court canceled their bail, leading to their arrest by the Gilgit Police Investigation Wing.
In a statement, the AWP Gilgit-Baltistan condemned the arrests of Nagri, Abbas, Shahi, and Nafees, asserting that repression and forced detentions would not deter their struggle. The party warned that such actions would only strengthen the resolve of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan to resist anti-people policies.
On May 15, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed deep concern over the reported crackdown on political activists ahead of the GBAAC’s grand jirga. The HRCP called on the government to halt the arrests and release the detained leaders.
“Those reportedly arrested—including senior political leaders Ehsan Ali, Mehboob Wali, and Masood ur Rehman—should be released immediately, and no further raids or arrests should be conducted without just cause,” the HRCP stated. “The threat of arrest must not be used to suppress the fundamental right to free expression.”