Threat to Asma’s life condemned

We the undersigned citizens, belonging to various sections of Pakistan’s civil society, express our serious concern and alarm at the information-leak from a responsible and highly credible source…

Lahore, 4 June 2012: We the undersigned citizens, belonging to various sections of Pakistan’s civil society, express our serious concern and alarm at the information-leak from a responsible and highly credible source that there is a serious threat to the life of the country’s leading human rights activist and one of the most influential leaders of the bar, Ms Asma Jahangir. What makes the reported conspiracy to liquidate Asma Jahangir especially serious is, firstly, the environment of target-killings, in which dissident persons’ dead bodies are being dumped all over, and, secondly, the fact that the finger of accusation has been pointed at the extraordinarily privileged state actors. We wish to make it clear to all and sundry, especially those who preside over the security apparatus, that they must not under-estimate the consequences of any harm being caused to the life of Asma Jahangir. This is not a conspiracy against one individual alone; it is obviously a plot againstPakistan’s future as a democratic state, of which the threat to Asma Jahangir may be only one, though crucial, part. What the duty of the state in this matter is and how the civil society must face the challenge thrown to it need no elaboration.   1.      Justice ® Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim 2.      Dr. Mubashir Hassan 3.      Mr. I. A. Rehman 4.      Mr. Yasmin Azad, President SCBAP 5.      Akhtar Hussain President Pakistan Bar Council 6.      Ali Ahmad Kurd, former President SCBAP 7.      Mr. Tariq Mahmood former President SCBAP 8.      Mr. Muneer A Malik, former President SCBAP 9.      Lt. General ® Talat Masood 10.  Air Marshal ® Zafar Chaudhry 11.  Mr. Ahmed Rashid, author and senior journalist 12.  Mr. Latif Afridi, President High Court Bar Peshawar 13.  Mr. Shahryam Sarwar Chaudhry, President Lahore High Court Bar Association 14.  Mr. Zahoor Ahmad Shawani President Balochistan High Court Bar Association 15.  Sher Muhammad, President Malakand High Court Bar Association 16.  Mr. Azam Nazir Tarar, Member PBC 17.  Mr. Ehsan Bhoon Member PBC 18.  Justice ® Malik Saeed Hassan 19.  Mr. S.M. Masood former Law Minister 20.  Mr. Ehsan Wyne General Secretary, ANP 21.  Prof. Salima Hashmi 22.  Hina Jilani, Advocate 23.  Munir Kakar President Executive Committee Balochistan Bar Council 24.  Jugnu Mohsin, Editor Friday Times 25.  Mr. Kamran Shafi 26.  Kamran Arif Co-Chairperson HRCP 27.  Rashid Rehman, Editor Daily Times. 28.  Fareeda Shaheed 29.  Samina Rehman 30.  Prof. Dr. Mehdi Hassan 31.  Dr. Haroon Ahmed 32.  Saleem Asmi, former editor, Dawn 33.  Tahir Hassan vice Chairperson HRCP, Quetta 34.  Neelam Hussain 35.  Kishwar Naheed 36.  Khawar Mumtaz 37.  Nazish Ataullah former Principal NCA 38.  Ms. Shahtaj Qizilbash coordinator, Joint Action Committee. 39.  Nasreen Azhar 40.  Mr. Abbas Rashid 41.  Ms. Nighat Saeed. 42.  Mr. Sajid Bashir former President Lahore Bar Association 43.  Shahzad Hassan Sheikh former President Lahore Bar Association. 44.  Muhammad Tahseen, South Asia Partnership   Issued by   Zohra Yusuf Chairperson, HRCP   I. A. Rehman Secretary-General