NA panel concerned over life threats to public figures

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights expressed concern over life threats to a number of public figures, activists and dissidents and called for investigation into the alleged “kill list” targeting some individuals.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights met under Acting Chairperson Shazia Marri in Parliament House Tuesday. Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari was also in attendance besides members of the committee.

The existence of alleged “kill list” has been mentioned by UN Rapporteurs, former TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan and this week by The Guardian also. The committee chairperson directed the interior secretary to have an early meeting with the complainants --- Farhatullah Babar and Afrasiab Khattak --- to take the matter forward.

Dr Shireen Mazari said that death threats were condemnable regardless who was given such threats. However, she said that she also condemned Twitter campaigns like #SanctionPakistan that aimed at harming the people.

Farhatullah Babar responded that by making these remarks the minister seemed to imply that we had participated in the Twitter campaign. He said that plea to sanction the entire people was wrong but there should be no harm in sanctions against some rogue individuals who may have acted on their own without proper authority

Earlier, the National Assembly Committee on Human Rights took up the issue of an alleged ‘kill list” containing names of some politicians and activists, including former senators Farhatullah Babar and Afrasiab Khattak.

Both had forwarded to the committee a Facebook post of Ehasanullah Ehsan in which he had claimed last month that he had been asked to lead a death squad to eliminate some individuals.

The “kill list” according to Ehsan’s post, included names of Farhatullah Babar, Afrasiab Khattak, Dr Syed Alam Mehsud and Mufti Kifayatullah. He said after the mysterious death of ex-senator Usman Kakar in Quetta on June 21, 2021, Ehsan in a Facebook post had said that Kakar’s name was included in the hit list maintained by his former handlers.

“In view of this background we are deeply concerned over the alleged “hit list” containing our names also,” he said. He said that a few days ago the UK’s Guardian newspaper also carried a report about threats of elimination of some Pakistani dissidents living abroad. “The Foreign Office on Tuesday denied any such list but mere denial cannot allay suspicions, he said and urged that the matter be investigated.