A senior Pakistani human rights activist said on Friday that his wife and daughter, who had already fled to the United States after being targeted’ by the country's powerful military to investigate human rights abuses by the military, there are new allegations of terrorism.
In a telephone interview with the
Associated Press, Muhammad Ismail, a retired university professor, said the
anti-terrorism court had charged him, his wife and daughter with involvement in
two suicide bombings this month. Appeared in the courts, one in 2013 and one in
2015.
"They just want to get our girl with
allegations of terrorist financing," Ismail said. "Because they can't
get it. They are following my wife, a housewife, who He is not even educated,
but he is still behind it and me. "
Human rights activists in Pakistan, such as
Ismail, and journalists, have come under increasing attack from the Pakistani
government and security agencies, limiting the scope for criticism and dissent.
The highly respected Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan said in a recent statement, "We are deeply
concerned about the growing efforts to control the media, stifle free speech,
and stifle political dissent." Or the government has a responsibility to
protect and secure every citizen, regardless of political beliefs. "
Ismail has denied the allegations, saying
he intended to intimidate his daughter, Gulalai Ismail, who fled to the United
States earlier this year for safety.
The charges against Ismail, 66, and his
family include those filed by Pakistan's civilian investigation agencies in an
anti-terrorism court in the northwestern city of Peshawar. It alleges that a
donation to her daughter's children's charity, Aware Girls, was spent’ on cars
used as suicide bombers. Aware girls face discrimination and abuse against
girls and women.
A group known as the Asia Safe Abortion
Partnership, which aims to help young girls have safer abortions, made the
donation. Its office is in rival India, but it operates in several Asian
countries.
Gulalai Ismail has long been a staunch
supporter of women's and girls' rights, especially in Pakistan's conservative
northwest.
In a tweet this week, he blamed Pakistan's
security agencies for the attacks on his parents, calling them
"shameless" and accusing Pakistani intelligence of helping anti-India
terrorist groups such as Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Was the
government and the army say they have stopped.
Gulalai Ismail went into hiding and
eventually fled the county after a report on allegations of sexual harassment
of women and girls in Pakistan's tribal areas led to a report published by him
and other rights activists. Pakistan's powerful intelligence agency,
abbreviated ISI, accused him of sedition.
The military has categorically denied the
allegations, but criticizing the military or its intelligence agency in
Pakistan could result in threats, intimidation, sedition, and in some cases
without warning. Is.
Muhammad Ismail said he was already facing
charges of criticizing the military on social media under the country's clean
cybercrime law. "I have never used bad language or said anything that is
against Pakistan," he said.
Authorities are trying to revoke his bail
and imprison him in a cybercrime case, Ismail said.
Human rights activists are not the only
ones carrying out attacks in Pakistan.
Lawyers' groups have also criticized the
heavy-handed ideology of journalists who write critically about the military,
which is widely seen as a force behind the country's civilian government.
The Committee to Protect Journalists and
the International Federation of Journalists have issued several statements in
recent weeks. In recent days, the federation has criticized journalists for
allegations of sedition against Asad Tor, Bilal Farooqi and Absar Alam.
The Federation of Journalists called on
the authorities to "rule out the broad powers of the Act to ensure that no
journalist is accused of criticizing only government officials and
institutions."
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