Noam Chomsky: An Open Letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan

An open letter to the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan regarding concerns about torture, media clampdown and intimidation

Dear Chief Justice Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial,

We are extremely concerned about the disturbing trend of suppression of media freedom in Pakistan and the use of illegal methods such as torture to subdue political opponents.

The most pressing case is the recent violent arrest of Dr. Shahbaz Gill (Chief of Staff to Chairman PTI Imran Khan and Assistant Professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) who was charged with sedition ¹https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-10/imran-khan-ally-arrested-for-sedition-after-army-comments for voicing concerns on ARY TV about government officers taking illegal actions.²https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pakistan-arrests-close-aide-to-ex-pm-khan-on-treason-charge/2022/08/09/666367ea-1814-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html Subsequently, there are disturbing reports of Dr. Gill being stripped ³https://www.globalvillagespace.com/imran-khan-condemns-torture-against-shahbaz-gill/ and tortured ⁴https://mmnews.tv/shahbaz-gill-being-brutally-tortured-during-captivity-alleges-imran-khan/ ⁵https://92newshd.tv/about/imran-khan-strongly-condemns-torture-being-inflicted-on-shahbaz-gill and being placed in the death cell.⁶https://arynews.tv/adiala-jail-top-officers-removed-for-keeping-shahbaz-gill-in-chakki/ The wife of his driver was also picked up and imprisoned with her 10-month-old suckling baby. ⁷https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/08/11/brother-in-law-of-gills-driver-remanded-to-police-wife-sent-to-jail/ ⁸https://www.globalvillagespace.com/releasebabygirl-trends-in-pakistan/

We are also witnessing severe suppression of media freedom as exemplified by the ban on the ARY TV channel which is one of Pakistan's biggest and oldest private TV channels.⁹https://www.dawn.com/news/1704589/pemra-moves-against-ary-news-after-licence-revoked ¹⁰https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-suspends-tv-channel-critical-of-government/6693898.html A blanket ban on one of the most well-established TV channels for airing criticism of the government gives credence to the concerns that the regime is operating in a fascist manner and displaying a flagrant disregard for human rights and freedom of speech. The ban has been accompanied by harassment and intimidation of media workers, and late-night raids against well-respected media executives.¹¹https://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-arrests-tv-executive-over-182609256.html Explicit and implicit intimidation and threats have forced prominent TV anchors and journalists such as Arshad Sharif and Sabir Shakir to flee the country.¹²https://www.dawn.com/news/1704976 ¹³https://arynews.tv/sabir-shakir-case-filed-against-another-anchorperson-of-ary-news/

The actions above are fascist in nature and against the basic tenets of any functioning democracy. They are blatant acts of harassment, intimidation, and censorship against Pakistan's media. The International Federation of Journalists (which is the world's largest organisation of journalists) as well as intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky have raised urgent concerns on these matters. ¹⁴https://tribune.com.pk/story/2362158/chomsky-other-academics-pen-open-letter-to-pm-over-deteriorating-human-rights ¹⁵https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/pakistan-ary-news-broadcast-suspended-across-country-executive-arrested.html ¹⁶https://www.geo.tv/latest/423334-imran-khan-mentions-noam-chomskys-letter-to-pm-shehbaz-sharif We firmly reiterate their demand. Intimidatory arrests and torture violate several human rights conventions including the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

We support a return to a truly democratic dispensation and urge the relevant authorities to adhere to and ensure fundamental human rights, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and safeguard from torture.

Signatories

1. Naeem Ahmad Poet, writer, and social worker
2. Samina Ahmad Doctor, Founder Salman and Samina Global Wellness Initiative
3. Waqas Ahmed Journalist
4. Salman Ahmed UN Goodwill Ambassador / Focal person on Arts & Culture
5. Shakil Akhtar Professor Clayton State University, USA
6. Habib Akram Journalist and Author
7. Hassan Aslam Shad International Lawyer
8. Rabia Aziz Academic, Canada
9. Haris Aziz Scientia Associate Professor, UNSW
10. Sarwar Bari Author and activist
11. Farhan Chak Associate Professor of Political Science
12. Muhammad Aamir Cheema Associate Professor at Monash University
13. Noam Chomsky Emeritus Professor at MIT, Philosopher, Author
14. Khurram Chughtai Strategic Counsel
15. Tatyana Deryugina Associate Professor, University of Illinois
16. Aravinda Garimella Assistant Professor, University of Illinois
17. Naureen Farooq Khan Ex Member National Assembly
18. Gabriele Gratton Professor of Politics and Economics, UNSW
19. Catherine Greenhill Professor
20. Imtiaz Gul Journalist and author
21. Wencui Han Assistant Professor University of Illinois
22. Isa Hafali Professor of Economics, University Technology Sydney
23. Raoof Hasan Chief Executive at Regional Peace Institute, Columnist
24. Kinza Hashmi Actor
25. Javed Hassan Columnist
26. Zafar Hilaly Former Diplomat, Columnist, and Analyst
27. Hadi Hosseini Assistant Professor, Pennsylvania State University, USA
28. Ch. Ghulam Hussain Journalist, Editor
29. Azhar Imran Lawyer and Professor, Punjab University, Lahore.
30. Kamal Jabbar Barrister
31. Javed Jabbar Former Senator, Federal Minister, author
32. Dr. Khurram Kayani Educationist and philanthropist
33. Aila Khan Dr. / Senior Lecturer Western Sydney University
34. Ejaz Khan President Pakistan Australia Association
35. Seema Khan Academic, Deakin University
36. Shandana Gulzar Khan Parliamentarian
37. Andrew Korybko Moscow-based American political analyst
38. Jérôme Lang Researcher at CNRS, France
39. Barton E. Lee Academic at Magdalen College, Oxford, UK
40. Mariam Malik Social Activist
41. Shireen Mehrunnisa Mazari Former Minister of Human Rights
42. Najma Minhas Managing Editor and CEO of Global Village Space Publications
43. Jameson Neff Mathematics Instructor at Lake Land College, USA
44. Dr. Rita Pal Human Rights Activist, Won at the UNHRC for Kashmir 2018
45. Samina Peerzada Actor, Director, Producer
46. Moeed Pirzada Editor Global Village Space Publications
47. Yvonne Ridley Journalist, author, and politician
48. Muhammad Usman Sami Advocate High Courts
49. Shaheen Sehbai Journalist, former Group Editor
50. Salman Shabbir Founder OpVoters
51. Jarrar Shah Entrepreneur
52. Saleeha Shah Artist & Businesswoman
53. Faisal Sherjan Media, Entrepreneur
54. Khadija Siddiqi Barrister and activist
55. Soufia Siddiqi Assistant Professor
56. Muhammad Azhar Siddique Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan, Human Rights Activist
57. Mehr Tarar Author, Columnist, Analyst
58. Toby Walsh Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor, UNSW
59. Chris Williamson Former UK Member of Parliament
60. Leyla Zuberi Actor

For the updated and full list, along with titles/affiliations, see herehttps://t.co/x8MlDUSyjj

— Citizen Action (@OPVoters) August 22, 2022