In memoriam: ‘State must protect human rights defenders’

Death anniversary of Rashid Rehman observed.

LAHORE: “Several activists, including Zarteef Khan Afridi, Rashid Rehman, Perween Rahman and Sabeen Mahmud, have rendered sacrifices for defending human rights but their murderers have not been caught,” Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Director Hussain Naqi said on Thursday.

He was speaking to The Express Tribune at a protest demonstration at Liberty Chowk to observe the first death anniversary of Rashid Rehman. Rehman was shot in Multan last year for defending Bahauddin Zakariya University’s Prof Junaid Hafeez after some student groups accused him of blasphemy.

Several human rights activists and civil society members, including Rahat Syed, Salima Hashmi, Nazish Ataullah, Samson Salamat and Salman Abid attended the event.

Naqi said lawyers from the other side had threatened Rashid Rehman at an anti-terrorism court but no action was taken against them. “They told him you will not be present here… he was later murdered,” he said.

Naqi said the HRCP protested against what he called was “blatant and open” killing of human rights defenders. He said it was the government’s responsibility to protect people, especially those requesting protection. “They (the government) ask us to protect ourselves when we face threats… if they can’t fulfil this basic responsibility then what are they good for?”

Civil Society Network President Abdullah Malik demanded that the government effectively implement the National Action Plan against terrorism. He accused the government of arresting and implicating around 14,000 people in false cases. The government did not present the real picture, he said.

“We are here to pay tribute not only to Rashid Rehman but also to more than 70,000 people who have become victims of terrorism,” Malik said.

Awami Workers’ Party Lahore general secretary Shazia Khan said the space for progressive forces was diminishing. “Such voices are being silenced and the state has not been able to check this,” she said.

“The killing of Perween, Rashid and Sabeen received a lot of attention. Even then the state has failed to arrest those responsible. This shows that non-state actors are stronger than the state,” she said.

Former federal minister Mubashir Hassan said it was the state’s responsibility to protect its citizens, ensure the dispensation of justice and remove economic inequality. He said the situation could not improve until the state met its responsibilities. He said it appeared that the state was party to the killing of human rights defenders and those killed in terrorism. “That is why they are unable to hold anyone accountable. We have many more sacrifices to make before we can achieve freedom,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2015.