That Asma Jehangir, the famous Pakistani human rights activist, has received death threats for her fearless manner, is something that everyone condemns. But once it has been denounced, the threats ought not to be taken lightly by the authorities, but need to be probed into at length. Considering the authority that Ms Jehangir holds, the fact that she accuses, so blatantly, that the assassination plot was set up by the ISI ought to be brought to court so that action taken in case the charges are proved. This may be done by Ms Jehangir providing all the possible evidence that she has against the accused and to be done with once and for all.
This game of hurling accusations at one or the other needs to be stopped, for the armed forces is an institution that operates with the support of the people. If such accusations, whether true or false, like in the case of missing persons, where every case is attributed to the security apparatus without any second thought just shows how we have been trained into accepting a stereotype, keep on emerging at such speed and without being backed by any evidence we might be in a serious position that tears us apart.
Why can the different institutions of the state function in a harmonious fashion? Dr Wahid Baloch, the president of the Baloch Society of North America, has shown his concern over the matter saying that the ISI appears to be irked by the historic conference convened by the Supreme Court Bar Association where key leaders in Pakistan expressed their deep concerns regarding the deteriorating human right situation in Balochistan and suggested a 15 point resolution on how to solve Balochistan problem.
One needs to ask what does the ISI stand to lose if the issue is resolved? Apparently, that is something that may irk the militants and criminals, but would be a proverbial feather for ISI’s cap. Maybe it’s time that we brought the issue in court so that it is settled once and for all.
PROFESSOR KABIL KHAN
Peshawar
