(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is deeply concerned about the safety of Saeed Iqbal Hashmi, a correspondent for the Urdu-language daily “Mashriq”. **Updates IFEX alerts of 21 December and 28 September 1998** On 17 December 1998, around dawn, two men armed with pistols entered Hashmi’s home. When Hashmi’s brother came upon them in the living room, the […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is deeply concerned about the safety of Saeed Iqbal Hashmi,
a correspondent for the Urdu-language daily “Mashriq”.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 21 December and 28 September 1998**
On 17 December 1998, around dawn, two men armed with pistols entered
Hashmi’s home. When Hashmi’s brother came upon them in the living room, the
intruders ran out of the house. Hashmi’s father, returning from morning
prayers, also saw the two men, who were apparently intimidated by the threat
of retaliation from the family members and fled the scene. They took nothing
from the residence.
Later that day, Hashmi himself received a phone call from someone speaking
in Pashto, who told him that the men left only because they did not want to
kill innocent people. He warned Hashmi, “We have sworn on the Holy Koran to
kill you. Whenever we get the chance, we will kill you for your enmity with
the Islamic government of the Taliban.”
Local religious leaders allied with the Taliban were angered by Hashmi’s
feature on “Sexual Harassment of Children: A Serious Social Problem,” which
ran in “Mashriq”‘s 14 September issue. The piece, using statistics gathered
from various NGOs, explained that child sexual abuse commonly occurred in
homes, schools, and even religious institutions. The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam
(JUI) party was outraged by this last charge, saying it was a blatant
attempt to defame Islamic religious schools, or madrassas. JUI runs several
large madrassas in the Northwest Frontier Province that send a number of
their students to fight alongside the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.
About a week after the article appeared, JUI supporters held a demonstration
in Peshawar to denounce those responsible for its publication. Protesters
displayed placards calling for the murder of Hashmi, and also Ayaz Ali Shah,
“Mashriq”‘s chief editor, and Qaiser Butt, an editor at the paper. Local
clergy issued fatwas sentencing all three men to death, and Hashmi went into
hiding for two weeks.
Three months later, Hashmi continues to receive threats of murder. He has
now registered two complaints with the police department: one regarding this
most recent attack, and another in relation to a traffic accident he
suspects was actually an assassination attempt.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the Prime Minister:
ongoing threats, and by the failure of local authorities to properly
investigate this case
increased in the area surrounding Hashmi’s residence, seeing this as only a
temporary solution
brought to justice
thorough investigation is undertaken, and that Hashmi is protected from
future attacks
Appeals To
His Excellency Muhammad Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister
Prime Minister’s Secretariat
Islamabad, Pakistan
Fax: +92 51 920 5532
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
