A fifth Pakistani rights activist has gone missing, his colleagues said on Thursday, as the UN raised concerns over shrinking freedoms for campaigners.
Samar Abbas, a middle-aged IT worker and head of the anti-militancy Civil Progressive Alliance, disappeared under mysterious circumstances after arriving in the capital Islamabad from the southern port city of Karachi on Saturday, January 7, according to Talib Raza, a colleague from his organisation.
Free speech under threat
“We formed the alliance to protect the rights of minorities. He had launched a struggle against the banned militant outfits’ activities and we together staged protests for the rights of the minorities,” said Mr. Raza.
Four leftist bloggers were previously reported missing from various cities in Pakistan between January 4 and 7, raising fears of a crackdown on social media, the last bastion of free speech in a country where journalism is increasingly under threat.
Human Rights Watch said their near simultaneous disappearances raised concerns of government involvement. The government has denied this, and on Tuesday Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told the Senate authorities would soon recover all the missing. Rights groups say Pakistani activists and journalists often find themselves caught between the security establishment and militant groups including the Taliban.
The UN and Amnesty International have expressed concern for the missing activists. “No government should tolerate attacks on its citizens,” said the UN's special rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression, David Kaye. — AFP
