Human Rights Activist Jibran Nasir Abducted in Pakistan

Human Rights Activist Jibran Nasir Abducted in Pakistan
Morning Of Karachi, Pakistan. Photo by Usama Tayyab. Source: Unsplash.

02.06.2023

Anandi Sweere

Team Pakistan Researcher,

Global Human Rights Defence.

Human rights activist and lawyer Jibran Nasir has been abducted on Thursday night June 1st in Karachi according to this wife. His wife, Mansha Pasha, told Reuters that Nasir was taken as they were driving home. They were intercepted by multiple cars and over 15 armed men emerged and ordered Nasir to get out of his car. No explanation was given as to why he was being abducted or who was taking him. No law enforcement agency in Pakistan has confirmed that they have arrested Nasir and it remains unclear where he is being held (Shahid 2023). 

This abduction was met with widespread public outcry and at a politically turmoil time. Nasir was a candidate in the 2018 elections, an outspoken human rights activist and critic of the Pakistani government, and a famous lawyer. He has criticised the latest move of the Pakistani government to arrest en masse leaders from Imran Khan’s party and to try to prosecute these people in military, rather than civilian, courts (The Associated Press 2023). Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have similarly criticised these development and argue that prosecuting civilians in miltiary courts is a violation of international human rights law applicable in Pakistan (Amnesty International 2023; Human Rights Watch 2023). 

Nasir is not the first prominent critic to be abducted and enforced disappearances by the Pakistani intelligence services is a widespread issue. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has urged the quick release of Nasir and to hold his abductors accountable (Hussain 2023). 

Sources and further readings:

Amnesty International (2023, May 16). Pakistan: Civilians must not be tried under military laws. Amnesty International. Retrieved June 2, 2023, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/05/pakistan-civilians-must-not-be-tried-under-military-laws/

Human Rights Watch. (2023, May 31). Pakistan: Don’t Try Civilians in Military Courts. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved June 2, 2023, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/31/pakistan-dont-try-civilians-military-courts 

Hussain, Abid. (2023, June 2). Pakistani lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir abducted, wife says. Al Jazeera. Retrieved June 2, 2023, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/2/pakistani-lawyer-and-activist-jibran-nasir-abducted-says-wife

Shahid, Ariba. (2023, June 2). Pakistani human rights activist abducted in Karachi. Reuters. Retrieved June 2, 2023, from https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistani-human-rights-activist-abducted-karachi-2023-06-02/The Associated Press. (2023, June 2). Leading Pakistani human rights lawyer taken by armed men in port city of Karachi, his family says. ABC News. Retrieved June 2, 2023, from https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/leading-pakistani-human-rights-lawyer-armed-men-port-99783218