Family demands immediate recovery of missing activist

Peers announce a protest for Monday, say the activist’s room was ransacked

LAHORE: Friends, family members and peers of Raza Khan, the activist who went missing under mysterious circumstances some days ago, held a press conference at the Lahore Press Club and demanded his safe recovery.

The participants had pasted a flex with the picture of Raza and inscribed #Find Raza on it.



Rahimul Haq, a friend and fellow activist, said Raza was a peace-loving citizen of Pakistan. He said that all his activism was related to peace in Pakistan and South Asia. He condemned his disappearance and demanded that the implementation of Article 4 (Right of individuals to be dealt with in accordance with law), Article 10 (Safeguards as to arrest and detention) and Article 25 (Equality of citizens) was the duty of the state.

“Raza has been deprived of all these fundamental rights through an extra-constitutional abduction,” one of the participants highlighted. Sharing details, Rahim said he was with Raza for a discussion at Low-Key Lokai about the conclusion of the Faizabad Dharna and its impact. When they lost contact with him, the activists went to his room and found that it had been ransacked, while he was missing.

They informed police who said they could not take action until the family registered a complaint.  Raza was a resident of Kasur and his brother later arrived in Lahore to register a complaint. Eventually, an FIR (No1123/17) was lodged.

Rahim continued that the victim had no personal enmity and had contributed a great deal to peace and social development. The participants said that the mysterious disappearance of Raza sent alarm bells ringing among the civil society. They demanded the state ensure his safe and immediate recovery. Hamid Nasir, the brother of Raza, while speaking on the occasion, said the family had no enmities. He stressed that the social activist was not involved in any form of illegal activity. “No FIR was ever registered against him,” he said. The brother also demanded the immediate recovery of the missing person

Nasir pointed to another unusual element of this case. He said that when they informed police, senior officials visited his room and they observed that CPU of his computer was missing, while the monitor was still in place.

Diep Syeda, a social activist affiliated with the Institute for Peace and Secular Studies, said it was unfortunate that the world was celebrating international day of human rights and they were holding a press conference for the recovery of an activist who championed the same cause. “Whoever works for human rights and social development in this country is contradicted by state narrative.”



Meanwhile, Rahim stated that their organization had a community-based model unlike other NGOs. He added it did not receive foreign funding and financed its own activism.

Sara Sohail, another activist from Feminist Collective and a lawyer, said that they also used the office of Raza for discussions and events. She said social activists felt threatened after Raza went missing under such mysterious circumstances. She said that if he, or anyone else, was involved in illegal activity, they must be produced before a court for justice. “Such steps are meant to instill fear, but we are not going to be intimidated,” she concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2017.