AN OPEN LETTER – CALLING FOR AN IMMEDIATE END TO STATE VIOLENCE IN PAKISTAN
MAY 23, 2023
As scholars and academics, we are alarmed by recent events in Pakistan. We condemn the state-sanctioned violence, murder and torture of protestors, use of sexual violence against women and men, curbs on media, bans on freedom of assembly and speech, and arbitrary arrests of thousands of political leaders and workers belonging to the main opposition party.
Following the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s elected government in April 2022, the ruling establishment has unleashed a reign of terror in a desperate bid to hold on to power, and deny the people of Pakistan a say in their future. While violence and censorship by the state and the military establishment has continued over decades, we are witnessing this in a very different form – given the scale and intensity of the recent public protests. The current government—backed, kept in power, and operated by the military establishment—is refusing to hold elections as mandated by the Constitution and ordered by the Supreme Court. The regime enjoys no popular mandate to rule and is depriving people of their right to vote, while seeking to eliminate the largest opposition party from the political arena.
Meanwhile, the people of Pakistan are facing an unprecedented onslaught on their civil liberties. Most recently, in flagrant violation of international human rights conventions, the military has announced its intention to establish military courts for trying civilians who protest and register their political dissent in the public domain, bypassing due process of law. The government has also attacked the judiciary, and court orders to release political leaders arrested under fabricated charges have been ignored. This is all occurring at a time when people are facing dire living conditions: over the last year, unemployment has spiraled, the currency has lost 55% of its value, and inflation has tripled.
We, the undersigned concerned scholars, write this open letter to express our solidarity with the people of Pakistan, and denounce attempts to impose a brutal and violent tyranny upon the country. The suspension of the rule of law, the use of state terror against the population, and the collapse of constitutional order is only deepening the political, economic, and social crisis in Pakistan.
Therefore we call upon the ruling establishment to:
Restore civil rights: It is vital to restore and uphold the fundamental rights and liberties of the people of Pakistan. This includes protecting freedom of expression, assembly, and association, as well as ensuring the right to a fair trial and due process for all individuals. We further contend that audiences within and outside Pakistan have a right to access accurate information about newsworthy events, and demand immediate cessation of state interference with, and curbs on, press freedom.
Release all political prisoners: We urge the regime to immediately release all political prisoners who have been detained without just cause or due process. The continued incarceration of individuals including journalists, lawyers, doctors, academics, and other civilians for exercising their constitutional rights violates international law and principles of justice.
Cease efforts to use military courts for civilians: Trial of civilians under military courts represents a gross violation of the Constitution and contravenes international law. Legal proceedings must be pursued under the existing judicial system, which must be allowed to function without coercion.
Investigate and prosecute officials who have violated and abused citizens: We demand independent and impartial investigations be carried out to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations. These include murder, torture, and use of sexual violence against political activists, journalists, and innocent civilians. The perpetrators must be brought to justice and victims provided reparations.
Respect the democratic process, end military interference in politics, and hold elections immediately: The state should desist from banning or breaking up any political party and engage in introspection on the deep drivers of grievances and the absence of institutionalized mechanisms to channelize these grievances. In a country of 230 million people, with an increasingly young and urban population, there is a legitimate expectation that people should have the right to choose their leaders and government. The military’s continued interference in politics (courts, police, media, and political parties) consistently denies this right and public grievances are more likely to be directed at the Army. To avert imminent chaos, we demand that the ruling establishment must step back from this interference and hold timely, and free and fair elections, with all legitimate political forces allowed to contest.
Please sign our letter here
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Thank you all for the incredible support!
Signatories :
Masooda Bano – University of Oxford
Farhat Haq – Monmouth College
Richard Falk – Princeton University
Noam Chomsky – University of Arizona
John L. Esposito – Georgetown University
Steven Friedman – University of Johannesburg
Hamid Dabashi – Columbia University
Mahmood Mamdani – Columbia University
Tamara Sonn – Georgetown University
Katrina Daly Thompson – University of Wisconsin- Madison
Zain R. Mian – University of Toronto
Nader Hashemi – University of Denver
Stuart Rees – University of Sydney
Ulrich Duchrow – University of Heidelberg
Patrick Bond – University of Johannesburg
Robert Jensen – University of Texas at Austin
Mohammad Fadel – University of Toronto
Jeff Cohen – Ithaca College
Ronald Pagnucco – St. John’s University
Alain Gabon – Virginia Wesleyan University, USA
Chandra Muzaffar – International Movement for a Just World
Allan Aubrey Boesak – University of Pretoria
Marthie Momberg – Nelson Mandela University, Stellenbosch University
Rev. Richard L. Hamm – Christian Church in the United States and Canada
Rodney Benson – New York University
Abdullah Ahsan – Istanbul Sehir University
Robert Rozehnal – Lehigh University
Ulrika Mårtensson – Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Medea Benjamin – CodePink
KM Kirby – MADRE , New York
David Swanson- World Without War / Executive Director
Kathy Kelly – World Without War / Board President
William Stanley – OIKOTREE Global Movement
Ben Norton – Associate Editor /Geopolitical Economy Report + The Grayzone
Guillermina Altomonte – New York University
Zahra Sabri – Institute of Business Administration, Karachi
Mustafaen Kamal – Harvard University / University of Oxford
Osama Alsaleh – Harvard University
Anusheh Yunus – SOAS
Syed Shaan-e-Ali Mehdi – University of Ottawa
Saqib Ahmed – University of Karachi
Zahid Bukhari – Center for Islam and Public Policy ( CIPP)
Abdullah Tariq – University College of London
Syed Shiraz Ali – University of California, Berkeley
David Lelyveld – William Paterson University
Daniel Morgan – Santa Clara University
Gar Smith – Environmentalists Against War
Usman Khan – Imperial College London
Amna Afreen – Georgetown University
Abdul Haque Chang – Institute of Business Administration, Karachi
Nadia Khan – University of Chicago
Hasham Azhar- University of Sydney
Javad Ahmed Raheel – Purdue University
Uzair Khalid – University College London
Abdullah Tariq – University College London
Ali Syed – Charles Strut University
Naseeb Aftab Khan – Ohio Wesleyan University
Faisal Haq Shaheen – Toronto Metropolitan University
Faiza Rehman – Emory University
Mehmood Irfan – RMIT University, Melbourne
Nasim Basiri – IUAES (International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences)
Mohammad Waqas Sajjad – University of Management and Technology
Alizeh Hassan – Lahore School of Economics
Alex da Costa – University of Alberta
Zainab Rao – University of Münster
Nida Arif – University of Delhi
Maria-Magdalena Pruss – Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin
Blain Auer – Université de Lausanne
Sunniya Durrani- Sussex University
Mohammad Ibrahim Khan – NYU
Zahida Malik – University of Southampton
Annia Mirza – University of Cambridge
Shaireen Rasheed – Long Island University
Ovamir Anjum- University of Toledo
Kashif Ali – Aalborg University Denmark
Sohaib Ibrahim Khan – Occidental College
Asim Raza – International Islamic University Islamabad
Dr. Adnan Fateh – University of Central Punjab, Lahore
Yaseen Baig – Ohio University
Marzia Raza – University of Heidelberg, Germany
Hafsa Hayee – Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture
Sabeena Shaikh – McGill University
Alizay Abid – Boston College
