Never wanted to leave Pakistan, says activist who exposed Pak army's atrocities

Gulalai Ismail | AFP

Gulalai Ismail (32), the human rights activist who fled Pakistan and sought asylum in the US, said she was booked for sedition, promoting anti-state activities and in terrorism cases only because she raised her voice against the incidents of sexual assault, human rights abuses and disproportionate use of force during operations in the militancy-affected tribal regions of the country by the Pakistan Army.

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In an interview to the BBC, Ismail said the past four months were extremely difficult for her, but she never wanted to leave Pakistan. "My family was tortured, my friends were tortured, and I was informed through multiple sources that the Pakistan security agencies wanted to kill me. I never wanted to leave Pakistan, I always wanted to live in Pakistan," she was quoted as saying.

She said she wanted to be in Pakistan because she believed that she could work to create better democracy, civil supremacy and peace in the country if she was in the country.

Gulalai had started campaigning on the issue of human rights as a teenager. She had been in the cross-hairs of the Pakistan Army following her association with the Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM). Gulalai, who won the Anna Politkovskaya Award in 2017 for campaigning against religious extremism, remained fugitive since late May this year.

In November last year, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) was informed that the ISI had recommended putting Ismail's name on the Exit Control List (ECL) for her alleged anti-state activities abroad. Following a petition by Ismail challenging the government's decision to put her name on the ECL, the IHC ordered the removal of her name from the no fly list.

Earlier, Gulalai vowed that she would continue her campaign for improving human rights in Pakistan. "The reason why I left was to continue my struggle. I have already fought for the democratic rights of our people for 15 years and I will continue," Gulalai had told Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty.

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