More than a week has lapsed since Salman Haider went missing from Islamabad. The same fate awaited Asim Saeed, Waqas Goraya, Ahmed Raza Naseer and Sammar Abbas, who went missing during first ten days of January.
Civil Society and eight activists have taken to streets and countrywide protests were held.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed grave concern over a growing sense of insecurity among civil society activists following disappearance of several bloggers over the last fortnight. It has called for their immediate recovery.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the commission stated, “The authorities are surely aware of a climate of increased insecurity and fear among bloggers and activists after at least four bloggers were picked up in the last few days.
“It is vital that all elements of the state, including the elected government and the security establishment, reflect on the reasons why fingers are being raised against state agencies for these disappearances. They must consider why families of the missing men or the civil society would suspect involvement of state agencies.
“It is in everyone’s interest that the missing bloggers are recovered without delay. It must be understood that national interest is in following the rule of law and due process without any exception.
The FIR’s have been lodged with the police while an application has also been submitted to the Human Rights Cell of the Supreme Court. Pakistan Today asked prominent human rights activists about their point of view on the matter and what would be their strategy in case the missing persons don’t return.
Jibran Nasir, a prominent human rights activist, lawyer and blogger said the issue at hand was not that they were bloggers or accused of blasphemy. ‘The things is that why they were taken up without due course of law. In my country there are military courts, ordinary courts, anti-terrorism courts, special courts what kind of courts are there who abduct citizens and put them on trial,’ he said.
When asked why haven’t they filed petition of Habeas Corpus. Nasir said that they have planned to file the writ on Tuesday. ‘The families have lost their breadwinners, the society has lost a voice,’ he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that these missing bloggers and activists are ‘alleged’ to run pages on Facebook that posted controversial content about religion, security establishment and army.
Fahad Rizwan, an engineer and human rights activist, when contacted said that the missing of these activists against the law of the land seems like an exercise orchestrated to regulate the voices of dissent.