LAHORE: Scores of social and political activists protested at Simla Hills on Saturday in protest at the target killing of social activist Sabeen Mahmud in Karachi on Friday.

They were holding pictures of Sabeen with slogan #IAmSabeen.

Awami Workers Party’s Farooq Tariq condemned the killing of Sabeen and called the deceased an activist, intellectual and progressive worker.

Read: Director T2F Sabeen Mahmud shot dead in Karachi

“It all happened due to the seminar on Balochistan as deep state actors are active with fascist methods to silence the critics,” Mr Tariq said.

“We are all Sabeen, we cannot be silenced. We would raise issue of Balochistan disappeared persons and the state must act to protect the citizens.”

Irfan Mufti said if a harmless voice and mild voices like that of Sabeen could not be tolerated, the state must “clarify limits of its tolerance on certain issues”. Apparently, she did nothing wrong but to contribute few decibels to voices raising the issue of Balochistan. If she can be punished the way she has been, every activist would fear for life, he claimed.

Marvi Sirmed, Shahzia Shaheen and Syeda Diep were also present.

HRCP: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has condemned the assassination of renowned activist and human rights defender Sabeen Mahmud.

The commission demanded that Sabeen’s killers must be held to account and immediate steps must be taken to address the escalating threats and violence against rights defenders across Pakistan.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the commission said: “HRCP condemns the killing of Sabeen Mahmud, rights activist and director of T2F and Peace Niche, in Karachi on April 24. Her mother was injured in the attack. Sabeen was returning home after the conclusion of a discussion titled “Unsilencing Balochistan”. She had reportedly been asked not to hold the roundtable on Balochistan.”

Over the years, Sabeen had developed her café, T2F, into a space for open discussion and sharing of ideas on issues ranging from politics to culture.

HRCP is deeply perturbed by the fact that voices advocating rights and tolerance are increasingly being silenced through violence all over the country. Karachi saw the killing of Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) director Perween Rahman who was fighting for land rights for the poor, two years ago, and a year ago, HRCP’s coordinator Rashid Rehman was gunned down in Multan for defending a blasphemy accused, the statement said.

It said: “Our heart goes out to Sabeen’s family and to countless others who were privileged enough to know and work with her. HRCP reiterates its longstanding call to ensure a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation to bring to justice those responsible in this and other cases of attacks on human rights defenders.”

The commission said the authorities must also acknowledge the growing protection challenges for human rights defenders and must adopt measures to ensure their safety and to end impunity for the perpetrators who had been systematically silencing Pakistan’s bravest daughters and sons.

LUMS: The Lahore University of Management Sciences (Lums) community is shocked and saddened by the assassination of Sabeen Mahmud on April 24, the varsity said in a statement released on Saturday.

The university said Sabeen was a tireless campaigner for education, human rights, justice, peace-building and making spaces for pluralistic dialogue. The Lums community shared her vision for a just and peaceful society where people could converse without fear.

“Lums students, staff, and faculty extend their deepest sympathies to Sabeen’s family and friends. We demand the relevant authority bring her killers to justice,” it further said.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2015

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