A prominent Pakistani human rights lawyer who was detained on terror allegations has been granted bail. The charges against him were terrorism-related.
Imaan Mazari-Hazir was taken into custody on August 20 at approximately 03:30 local time by officials in plain clothes who invaded her home. This occurred after she gave a speech in which she criticized the powerful military.
The decision to arrest her has been roundly criticized.
Following the attacks on military posts that took place in May by crowds protesting the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, analysts suggest that a crackdown has become more severe.
"There has been a significant exaggeration of response to the events that occurred on May 9." The establishment, however, does not want to give the impression that it is just working against Mr. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (also known as PTI). According to a notable journalist named Cyril Almeida, who spoke with the BBC, "So, now they are targeting different segments of society."
Videos of Ms. Mazari-Hazir's speech at a rally in Islamabad organized by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) rights group are extensively shared on social media. In her address, she harshly criticizes the military over purported abductions, an allegation that the army has long rejected.
"You are being stopped, as if you are terrorists, while the real terrorists are sitting in GHQ [Pakistan's military headquarters]," she remarked. "You are being treated as if you are terrorists."
"An abduction not an arrest," the message read.
Ms. Mazari-Hazir wrote on X (which was formerly known as Twitter) that "unknown persons" were breaking down the security cameras in her home and that the gate to her house had been "jumped over" just moments before she was arrested in the capital.
According to allegations made by Shireen Mazari, who is Ms. Mazari-Hazir's mother, security authorities allegedly disregarded arrest orders and legal procedures.
Ms. Mazari, who served as the country's minister for human rights under Imran Khan, claimed on X that the police had stormed into her daughter's room, ransacked it, taken her daughter's phone and laptop, and then forcibly removed her from the home.
"They did not even let her change out of her night clothes," she reported to the BBC the next day.
Police in Islamabad also took into custody Ali Wazir, who was a co-founder of the PTM rights group and a former politician.
After some time had passed, the two were brought before a special court that dealt with terrorism and sedition cases. The police have also accused them of spreading messages that are against the state.
Ms. Mazari-Hazir has been remanded to the custody of the court.
She hurried to her mother right before she was taken away to the correctional facility, and she gave her a bear embrace. Shireen was obviously upset, and she gave off the impression that she was about to cry.
"Laws designed to silence dissent"
The federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Murtaza Solangi, told the BBC that Ms. Mazari-Hazir's remark was a "condemnable act"
"I can't even begin to fathom the impact that such speeches have. Pakistan is classified as a nuclear power. How is it possible for someone to suggest that the commander or leader of the army, who is currently sitting in the Headquarters, is implicated in terrorism?
However, many commentators believe that these arrests are only a part of a bigger effort to silence voices that are critical of the military.
Human Rights Watch described the arrests as an attempt to "suppress dissent, emphasizing the importance of upholding due process" in a statement that was released the previous Thursday.
"In order to crush dissent, Pakistani authorities have arrested Imaan Mazari and others by utilizing anti-terrorism legislation that are overly broad and overly broad-brush. The statement continued by saying that the government ought to protect the right to due process.
Users of social media platforms also responded angrily.
Nida Kirmani, a professor of sociology and a human rights activist, was one of the individuals who voiced their opposition to the "harsh" arrests.
She stated that Ms. Mazari-Hazir and Mr. Wazir were "unfairly targeted for exercising their freedom of speech," and she referred to both of them as "targets."
Mr. Almeida has stated that the current state of affairs in Pakistan is "just as bad as some of the worst times."
He shares the opinion of a large number of other people who believe that the strategies employed to suppress dissent in areas such as the province of Balochistan and formerly federally managed tribal regions are now being applied "more centrally."
The tightening of restrictions on civil liberties has occurred at the same time as Pakistan has been led by a caretaker government, which is commonly believed to have close ties to the country's powerful military establishment.
Pakistan has been wracked by significant political upheaval, economic instability, and a growing number of security issues over the course of the past two years.
In the midst of all of these problems, the people were hoping that fresh elections would bring some degree of consistency.
However, the elections, which were supposed to take place in the fall of this year, have now been delayed indefinitely, leaving many people anxious about the future of democracy in Pakistan.
Imaan Mazari-Hazir was taken into custody on August 20 at approximately 03:30 local time by officials in plain clothes who invaded her home. This occurred after she gave a speech in which she criticized the powerful military.
The decision to arrest her has been roundly criticized.
Following the attacks on military posts that took place in May by crowds protesting the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, analysts suggest that a crackdown has become more severe.
"There has been a significant exaggeration of response to the events that occurred on May 9." The establishment, however, does not want to give the impression that it is just working against Mr. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (also known as PTI). According to a notable journalist named Cyril Almeida, who spoke with the BBC, "So, now they are targeting different segments of society."
Videos of Ms. Mazari-Hazir's speech at a rally in Islamabad organized by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) rights group are extensively shared on social media. In her address, she harshly criticizes the military over purported abductions, an allegation that the army has long rejected.
"You are being stopped, as if you are terrorists, while the real terrorists are sitting in GHQ [Pakistan's military headquarters]," she remarked. "You are being treated as if you are terrorists."
"An abduction not an arrest," the message read.
Ms. Mazari-Hazir wrote on X (which was formerly known as Twitter) that "unknown persons" were breaking down the security cameras in her home and that the gate to her house had been "jumped over" just moments before she was arrested in the capital.
According to allegations made by Shireen Mazari, who is Ms. Mazari-Hazir's mother, security authorities allegedly disregarded arrest orders and legal procedures.
Ms. Mazari, who served as the country's minister for human rights under Imran Khan, claimed on X that the police had stormed into her daughter's room, ransacked it, taken her daughter's phone and laptop, and then forcibly removed her from the home.
"They did not even let her change out of her night clothes," she reported to the BBC the next day.
Police in Islamabad also took into custody Ali Wazir, who was a co-founder of the PTM rights group and a former politician.
After some time had passed, the two were brought before a special court that dealt with terrorism and sedition cases. The police have also accused them of spreading messages that are against the state.
Ms. Mazari-Hazir has been remanded to the custody of the court.
She hurried to her mother right before she was taken away to the correctional facility, and she gave her a bear embrace. Shireen was obviously upset, and she gave off the impression that she was about to cry.
"Laws designed to silence dissent"
The federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Murtaza Solangi, told the BBC that Ms. Mazari-Hazir's remark was a "condemnable act"
"I can't even begin to fathom the impact that such speeches have. Pakistan is classified as a nuclear power. How is it possible for someone to suggest that the commander or leader of the army, who is currently sitting in the Headquarters, is implicated in terrorism?
However, many commentators believe that these arrests are only a part of a bigger effort to silence voices that are critical of the military.
Human Rights Watch described the arrests as an attempt to "suppress dissent, emphasizing the importance of upholding due process" in a statement that was released the previous Thursday.
"In order to crush dissent, Pakistani authorities have arrested Imaan Mazari and others by utilizing anti-terrorism legislation that are overly broad and overly broad-brush. The statement continued by saying that the government ought to protect the right to due process.
Users of social media platforms also responded angrily.
Nida Kirmani, a professor of sociology and a human rights activist, was one of the individuals who voiced their opposition to the "harsh" arrests.
She stated that Ms. Mazari-Hazir and Mr. Wazir were "unfairly targeted for exercising their freedom of speech," and she referred to both of them as "targets."
Mr. Almeida has stated that the current state of affairs in Pakistan is "just as bad as some of the worst times."
He shares the opinion of a large number of other people who believe that the strategies employed to suppress dissent in areas such as the province of Balochistan and formerly federally managed tribal regions are now being applied "more centrally."
The tightening of restrictions on civil liberties has occurred at the same time as Pakistan has been led by a caretaker government, which is commonly believed to have close ties to the country's powerful military establishment.
Pakistan has been wracked by significant political upheaval, economic instability, and a growing number of security issues over the course of the past two years.
In the midst of all of these problems, the people were hoping that fresh elections would bring some degree of consistency.
However, the elections, which were supposed to take place in the fall of this year, have now been delayed indefinitely, leaving many people anxious about the future of democracy in Pakistan.
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