Investigation slow on murder of Pakistani activist

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan

One of Pakistan's most prominent human rights activists was killed last week and investigators seem to be getting no closer to finding out who was responsible. 

Sabeen Mahmud, 40, was killed by unidentified gunmen in the southern city of Karachi on Friday night, in an attack that rights groups say is a warning for dissenting voices. 

Sabeen was on her way home when she was shot. She had only just finished hosting a seminar on the issue of forced disappearances in the turbulent southwestern province of Baluchistan. 

Her activism on the issue of the Baluchistan "missing persons" was well-known and a touchy topic for some of Pakistan's institutions. 

The province has a strong separatist movement which claims the region -- which extends over borders into Iran and Afghanistan -- was forcibly annexed during the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

Sabeen had campaigned for the hundreds of people who have gone missing in the custody of security forces, sometimes later being found dead.

Many activists have suggested that this line of work was the reason for her death and though they have been careful with their wording, Sabeen’s friends on social media have accuse “state institutions,” a term usually taken to mean the intelligence agencies.

"She was facing life threats from outlawed organizations," said Sabeen's mother Mahenaz Mahmud, who was injured in the attack, on Tuesday. "Her death is a great loss for us and her friends .There should be an end to speculation about her murder"

Officially, Pakistan's army has condemned that murder and ordered intelligence agencies to assist the police investigation.

Nuzhat Shireen, a Karachi-based women's rights activist, says the murder was a warning to those who raise the “voice of dissent" in Pakistan. 

“ I and many other colleagues have restricted our movement. It has shattered our nerves,” she told Anadolu Agency.  “I am working in skill development for women from conflict-hit areas. It’s my mission to enable these women to earn their livelihood but now I feel threatened and scared. I don’t know why and where I can be targeted.”

She was also concerned that the murder could slow down or lead to the cancellation of some social development projects in Pakistan, especially in remote areas and those vulnerable to conflict. 

“Donors will also think whether the projects they are funding can be implemented or not because of rising fear among NGO workers,” said Shireen. 

Anis Haroon, a friend of Sabeen and an official from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, says human rights activists are taking a stance against state narratives on several issues, including the Baluchistan's missing persons. 

“It seems as if we have been given a message for having this different narrative. It’s an issue of their ego or sensitivity or weaknesses, for which they are targeting people like Sabeen,” said Haroon. “I am not pointing finger at any individual or group but it seems to me that Sabeen’s murder is poised towards Baluchistan issue.”

“We are not the intelligence agency or the investigators to say who is behind this murder. This is state’s responsibility to act and unmask faces behind that,” she said.

Investigators say however that they have made little progress on the murder case. 

“Frankly speaking, we have nothing to share with you at the moment except that the police have found casings of the bullets [that killed Sabeen],” an investigator told AA on condition of anonymity.

They said they are relying on information from Sabeen's injured mother and driver, but that they could not identify the assailants. 

Sabeen’s bids to hold a seminar titled “Un-silencing Baluchistan,” to highlight the issue of disappeared persons, had been blocked reportedly after pressure from security agencies earlier this month.

A city police chief, Dr. Jameel Ahmed, suggested another motivation on Thursday, claiming Sabeen had recieved threats from militants for the past two years after leading a rally in support of Valentines day.