Slain activist: Bring Sabeen’s murderers to book, urge senators

Resolution calls for bringing intelligence outfits under ambit of law

ISLAMABAD:

The upper house of parliament paid rich tribute to human rights activist Sabeen Mahmud while condemning the murderers and demanding the government to bring culprits to book. A senior lawmaker also suggested legislation to be introduced to bring the intelligence agencies properly under the ambit of law. 

Sabeen was gunned down recently in Karachi while she was on her way home after organizing a seminar on the Balochistan issue in which Baloch activist Mama Qadeer was the chief guest.

The Senate of Pakistan adopted a resolution that was moved by MQM’s Senator Nasreen Jalil. “She (Sabeen) offered a public place in the form of T2F for dissenting voices. This house salutes her courage,” reads the resolution.

Speaking on his call attention notice earlier regarding recent target killing of human rights activist Sabeen Mahmud, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Senator Farhatullah Babar had emphasized the need of legislation to bring the intelligence agencies under the ambit of law. This would protect them from uncalled for and unsubstantiated allegations of involvement in extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and grave human rights violations.

He said that the commission on enforced disappearances had also requested that agencies be brought under the ambit of the law. It had taken forward its report to the Senate committee on human rights last year and proposed draft legislation for the purpose. The draft legislation, he said, had been forwarded to the government and it never responded. “The most important thing was to bring all 33 intelligence agencies under the ambit of law”, he said, adding that unless this was done fingers would continue to be raised towards them. “To peg Sabeen assassination case, intelligence agencies should be brought under the law. The issue is not of un-silencing Balochistan but of un-silencing Pakistan,” he said.

“It can be an isolated incident but a few weeks ago, LUMS management in Lahore had been forced to cancel a similar event to highlight the issue of missing persons in Balochistan by the officials of intelligence agencies. The incidents of kidnapping killing and dumping in Balochistan needed to be investigated and addressed, he said.

Sheikh Aftab, the state minister for parliamentary affairs, responded that the call attention notice claimed that Sindh Police and Ranger were doing their best to bring peace in Karachi and Rs2 million bounty had been announced to arrest the killers of Sabin.

The House adopted another resolution, moved by Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed of PML-Q, that condemned the bid to malign Islam and the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) through a contest of blasphemous sketches in US.

It also criticised hate speeches against Islam at an event in Texas and urged the government to take up the issue at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHR) to prevent such acts in future.

“Blasphemy of sacred personalities and religions in the name of freedom of expression might be banned by introducing legislation like that of the Holocaust,” said the resolution. It also said that the Muslims should not be provoked by such incidents and become entrapped.

Deputy Chairman Maulana Ghafoor Haideri asked for summoning of the US ambassador in Pakistan to the Foreign Office to record protest against the blasphemous event. Barrister Muhammad Saif of MQM underlined the importance of practical steps against blasphemous publications, saying the government should move a similar resolution in the UN General Assembly for seeking action against blasphemous acts.

Responding to a point of order, State Minister for Religious Affaris Peer Hasnat said that the ministry had not made any changes in the Haj applications and that the applicant’s sect has been requested for in forms for the last 20 years to provide special facilities to some sects during Haj.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2015.