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PAKISTAN: A book on Kashmir was banned and writer is threatened with death by Islamic fundamentalist government of a province

December 15, 2006

[NOTICE: To facilitate your intervention of the urgent appeals issued by the AHRC, we have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the "button" below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of many of the Pakistan authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Pakistan authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]

URGENT APPEAL GENERAL URGENT APPEAL GENERAL URGENT APPEAL GENERAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION –

15 December 2006
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UA-403-2006: PAKISTAN: A book on Kashmir was banned and writer is threatened with death by Islamic fundamentalist government of a province

PAKISTAN : violation of freedom of speech & movement; unconstitutional provincial order
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information from Pakistan that the government of the North Western Frontier Province has banned the booklet on Kashmir titled “Kashmir Ki Pukar” (loud voice of Kashmir) on October 21 by issuing an official notification. The writer was informed through telephone calls that if he enters the province he will face dire consequences, including loss of his life. The writer is receiving threatening calls at his home and to his mobile phone insisting that he denounce the book and make an apology in public, otherwise his family will not be safe. The writer says that most of the calls are from the officials of Pakistan secret services (ISI). When the writer made a phone call to the number from which he was receiving the threats no one answers the call. Even if it was answered by chance, there is just an announcement telling that this number is not in use. The police have not yet registered the author's complaint of being threaten yet.


CASE DETAILS:

Mr. Arif Malik is a prominent journalist from Mirpur, the capital city of the Pakistan territory of Kashmir and has worked in several leading newspaper companies in different cities of the country. He is the editor of monthly magazine “Bharosa” in Mirpur, which was closed down after the ban on his booklet was announced by the government. The book “Kashmir Ki Pukar” (the loud voice of Kashmir) was largely circulated in Pakistan and it has given a different view about Kashmir's stand with the Pakistani government and holy war in Kashmir on the both sides of India and Pakistan.

The writer criticised the Muslim religious Parties and their leaders about their role in holy wars in the book. Mr. Malik accused the government of Pakistan that it had treated Pakistani side of Kashmir as its colony, not as an independent state and claimed that Pakistani Kashmir is run by the ministry of interior of Pakistan. Although Pakistan Kashmir has a parliament, the elected members all have close connections to the government of Pakistan and the military intelligence service including the ISI.

He also pointed out the role of the ISI in the holy war against India by referring to several examples from the past. The audacious greediness of religious fundamentalist parties and its leadership was also criticised by him in the book and he pointed out the privileges that those people had been enjoying over the propaganda that they made during the war, urging youths in the country to sacrifice their lives for the holy war.

In the book he also pointed out a cynicism towards the two-faced attitudes of the religious parties that once fought against Pakistan government for the rights of people in the Kashmir territory and called the youth to sacrifice their life for the so called "holy war" against the imperialism of the United States. The religious parties now are catering to the extremist Pakistani government.  

The writer, Mr. Arif Malik is now facing threats to his life since his book was published. He tried to register the report to the police however the Mirpur police station refused to register the case. Instead the police officials said this is a high profile matter so that only high officials in the rank of Superintendent Police can register this type of case. The writer is receiving continuous threats, not only from fundamentalists groups but also from the army, particularly from the ISI. Mr. Malik and his family cannot move about freely after they started to receive threats and now they are taking shelter in different places. The government of NWFP instructed the police in the province to arrest the writer when they find him in the province.

BACKGROUND INFROMATION:

The government of North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) is purely Islamic fundamentalist and the members are from Islamic religious groups who had started a holy war after the intervention of USSR in Afghanistan in 1980.

The fundamentalist religious parties have won the elections in NWFP in 2002 as an alliance group called Muttehda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). This alliance has also won several seats in different assemblies including National Assembly. In 2002 MMA formed a government in NWFP and announced the Islamic system by introducing the Hisba bill (accountability bill) that allows district Islamic officers to monitor the religious conviction and practice of Islam of all citizens.


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the concerned authorities and urge them to provide protection for the life of Mr. Arif Malik and his family and take necessary actions to stop the intimidation and take legal action against the perpetrators. Please also demand the governments of NWFP and Pakistan to respect the freedom of speech and movement within the country as it has been guaranteed in constitution of Pakistan that meets the international human rights standards.

To support this appeal, please click here:

Sample letter:

Dear ----------

PAKISTAN: A book on Kashmir was banned and writer is threatened for his life by Islamic fundamentalist government of a province

Name of the victim: Mr. Arif Malik, senior journalist from Mirpur, Azad Kashmir. Also a writer of "Kashmir Ki Pukar" a book on the voice of Kashmir
Names of the Perpetrators:
1. Government of North Western Frontier Province, Peshawer, Pakistan.
2. Chief Minister of NWFP government, Peshawer, Pakistan.
3. Chief Secretary, Government of NWFP, Peshawer, Pakistan.
Period of intimidation: since 21 October 2006 to the present

I am writing to you to show my deepest concern about unconstitutional ban of a book called “Kashmir Ki Pukar” (loud voice of Kashmir) written by Mr. Arif Malik that was laid by the North Western Frontier Provincial government, and the continuous threats against Mr. Malik and his family by unknown persons.

According to the information I have received, Mr. Arif Malik is a prominent journalist from Mirpur, the capital city of the Pakistani territory of Kashmir, and has worked with several newspapers in different cities in the country. He is also the editor of monthly magazine "Bharosa" of Mirpur and that publication was also banned after the banning of his book was enforced by the North Western Frontier Provincial government on October 21. 

The book, “Kashmir Ki Pukar” (the loud voice of Kashmir) has been largely circulated in Pakistan and it has given a different view about Kashmir's stand of the Pakistan government and the holy war in Kashmir on the both sides of India and Pakistan.

In the book, the writer criticised the Muslim religious Parties and their leaders about their role in holy wars. Mr. Malik accused the government of Pakistan that they had treated Pakistani side of Kashmir as its colony not as an independent state. The territory of Pakistani Kashmir is governed by the ministry of interior of Pakistan and there is a parliament in the territory. However the elected members all have close connection to the government of Pakistan and the military intelligence service including the ISI.

He also pointed out the role of the ISI in holy war of against India by referring several examples from the past. The audacious greediness of religious fundamentalist parties and its leadership was also criticised by him in the book and pointed out the privileges that those people had been enjoying over the propaganda that they made during the war urging youths in the country sacrifice their life for the holy war.

In the book he also pointed out a cynicism towards the two-faced attitudes of the religious parties that once fought against Pakistan government for the rights of people in the Kashmir territory and called on the youth to sacrifice their lives for the so called "holy war" against the imperialism of the United States. The religious parties now are catering to the extremist Pakistani government.  

The writer, Mr. Arif Malik is now facing threats to his life since his book was published. He tried to register a report with the police. However, the Mirpur police station refused to register the case. Instead the police officials said that because this is a high profile matter only high officials in the rank of Superintendent Police can register this type of case. The writer is receiving continuous threats not only from fundamentalists groups but also from some secret services of army particularly from the ISI. Mr. Malik and his family cannot move about freely after they started to receive threats and now they are taking shelter in different places. The government of NWFP instructed to police in the province to arrest the writer when they find him in the province.

I regret to say that the banning of the book along with a governmental order to arrest the author of the book is a huge destruction of freedom of speech and the security of people engage in journalism. This case also tells another story of the inefficiency of Pakistani police in dealing with complaints from the citizens and protecting them from the imminent threats.

Therefore, I urge you to take all necessary steps to provide the security for the author of the book and his family from the threats to their life. Moreover, the complaint made by Mr. Malik should be treated seriously by the police, and I urge the police to take any necessary actions to provide Mr. Malik and his family sufficient security. Also I urge your intervention to lift the unconstitutional order of hunting Mr. Malik imposed by the NWFP government immediately.

I look forward to your immediate intervention to this case.

Yours sincerely,

 

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
E-mail: (please see - <http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx>http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx)

2. Mr. Muhammad Wasi Zafar
Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block
Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2628
E-mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk

3. Mr. Mohamag Ali Durrani
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
E-mail: infominister@infopak.gov.pk

4. Mr.Tariq Azeem
Minister of State for Information and Boradcasting
Government of Pakistan
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
E-mail: mos@infopak.gov.pk

5. Mr. Akram Khan Durrani,
Chief Minister of North Western Frontier Province
Peshawer
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92-91-9211718
 
6. Mr. Ejaz Ahmed Quereshi,
Chief Secretary
Governemnt of North Western Frontier Province
Peshawer
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92-91-9210970
E-mail: ziagul@hotmail.com

7. Mr. Capt. (R) Azmat Hanif Orakzai
Secretary to the governor of North Western Frontier Province
Peshawer
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92-91-9210087

8. Mr. Ambeyi Ligabo
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
c/o J Deriviero
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9177
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION)
   

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-403-2006
Countries :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.