(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC is seriously concerned for the safety of Afghan writer and researcher Mohammad Enam Wak following an attempted assassination, apparently in connection with a book he had just published. There are also serious concerns for the safety of his publisher Farid Bazger. Wak, Bazger and their families are believed to be at risk […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC is seriously concerned for the safety of Afghan writer and researcher Mohammad Enam Wak following an attempted assassination, apparently in connection with a book he had just published. There are also serious concerns for the safety of his publisher Farid Bazger. Wak, Bazger and their families are believed to be at risk of further attack. International PEN is calling for protection to be provided to both men and their families as a matter of urgency, and urges that a thorough and impartial investigation be carried out into the attack so that those responsible may be brought to justice.
On 1 June 2000, unidentified gunmen shot and wounded Wak at his home in the city of Peshawar, northern Pakistan. Wak was reportedly shot twice in the right arm and once in the abdomen. His condition, which was critical after the shooting, has now stabilised and he is currently receiving treatment at the Khybar-Shirpaw Hospital, Peshawar. The attack was reported to the police, although to date no action has been taken.
The shooting appears to have been triggered by the publication in late May 2000 of a book written by Wak entitled “Afghanistan Federalism”, in which he debated the formation of a federal Afghan state on the basis of ethnic identity. The book reportedly debated unification of the Pushtun communities on either side of the Afghan-Pakistani border, and it is thought this may have unsettled both anti-Federation groups in Afghanistan and local authorities in the North-West Frontier Province in Pakistan. Wak, who is Pushtun, is well-known for his views on Afghan nationalism and is a leading member of the nationalist party Afghan Mellat. The identity of the attackers and their political allies is not known.
Prior to the publication of the book, rumours were reportedly circulating of an imminent attack on the author, and Wak is said to have taken a number of security precautions. His publisher had tried to withdraw the book from circulation, but copies had already been printed and distributed. There are grave concerns for the safety of Bazger and his family, who are also feared to be at risk of imminent attack.
Wak, born in 1954, is a researcher in political science and has written a number of books. In 1998 his book “The Ethnic Composition of Afghanistan” was published in Pashto by the Sapi Centre for Research and Pashto Development (SCPRD); an English version of this book was published in 1999 by Dr Bazgerâs Khatiz Organisation for Rehabilitation (KOR). In 1999 he published “Afghanistan Crisis: the Third Alternative” in collaboration with Bazger. He has also published another book in English entitled “Afghan Nationalism and Islamic Fundamentalism”. Wak is the author of an unpublished survey, based on interviews with some 1,000 Afghans living in Pakistan, which reportedly shows strong support for the establishment of a national government in Afghanistan led by the former Afghan king Zahir Shah.
During the past few years over a dozen Afghan intellectuals living as refugees in Pakistan have been assassinated, and many more have received death threats. These attacks are all believed to have been politically motivated.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the authorities:
- expressing serious concern for the safety of Wak, Bazger and their families
- urging that Wak, Bazger and their families immediately receive effective protection from further attack
- calling for a thorough and impartial investigation into the attempted assassination of Wak so that those responsible may be brought to justice
Appeals To
General Pervez Musharraf
Chief Executive
National Security Council
General Block, Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Fax: +92 51 922 4768
Muhammad Shafiq
Governor of the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP)
Governorâs House
Peshawar, Pakistan
If possible please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for Pakistan in your country.
In Canada, send appeals to:
Yusuf Shah
Consul General of Pakistan
4881 Young Street, Suite 810,
Willowdale, ON, M2N 5X3
Fax: +416 250 1321
For further information, contact the Cathy McCann at WiPC, International PEN, 9/10 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AT, U.K., tel: +44 (0) 20 7253 3226, fax: +44 (0) 20 7253 5711, e-mail: intpen@gn.apc.org
