A seven-year-old boy has been booked in a terrorism abetment case in Gwadar for allegedly sharing a video on social media, a news outlet reported, citing officials.

 

According to details, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Makran, accusing the minor of sharing a video of a speech by human rights activist Gulzar Dost in Turbat. The boy was presented in court on Thursday.

 

According to a news report quoting officials, the controversial speech delivered by Dost was shared on TikTok by the minor. Authorities claimed this act constituted a crime under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), as the orator had been placed on the Fourth Schedule by the provincial government.

 

Dost has been in detention for the last two weeks.

 

In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the action, saying that it was “appalled” by reports that a minor has been presented before an anti-terrorism court on charges of “terrorism” for allegedly sharing the speech of a rights activist on social media.

 

The commission said that the “misuse” of anti-terror laws reflected a “gross violation of child rights and due process”.

 

HRCP has demanded the “immediate withdrawal of charges, a thorough review of the FIR and accountability for the officials responsible for this alarming overreach”.