Freedom of Speech in Pakistan and the Death of Sabeen Mahmud
Olivia Enos /
On April 24, renowned Pakistani human rights activist, Sabeen Mahmud, was gunned down and killed by two men in Karachi, Pakistan. Mahmud was a respected, outspoken intellectual who founded a coffeehouse and meeting place in Karachi called The Second Floor, commonly referred to as T2F.
“The Killing of Sabeen Mahmud is a tragic demonstration of the growing influence of extremist ideologies and the shrinking space for political discourse, especially on issues related to the Indo-Pakistani conflict,” says Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow on South Asia, Lisa Curtis.
Mahmud was targeted after hosting a discussion on Balochistan, where an insurgency has been raging for the past decade. Mama Qadeer, a well-known Baloch activist who staged a march from Quetta to Islamabad in protest of missing persons in Balochistan in 2014, spoke at the event. A similar event on Balochistan was scheduled in the preceding weeks at the elite Lahore University of Management Sciences, but the event was cancelled because Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) asked the university to cancel the academic talk referring to the Balochistan conflict as a “sensitive issue…that could be used to malign Pakistan.” Mahmud decided to host it instead.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest, most resource-rich, but most underdeveloped province, has periodically faced insurgencies from Baloch separatists demanding independence from Pakistan. However, the conflict has remained far from the public’s attention since few activists, journalists, and media outlets dare to report in fear of being targeted by ISI.
Baloch activists contend that as many as 21,000 Baloch residents have been abducted or killed since 2001. Many allege that abductees were taken by ISI. Pakistan accuses India of supporting the Baloch separatists, and just this week the Pakistan Army issued a statement accusing the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW, India’s external intelligence service) of “whipping up terrorism in Pakistan.”
Mahmud regularly held controversial political discussions at T2F and was an active supporter of persecuted minority groups. She received numerous death threats after staging protests in response to calls from religious extremists to end Valentine’s Day. She also organized a peaceful gathering with Pakistani Christians after an attack on a church in Peshawar.
Mahmud did not limit her activities to politics alone. T2F regularly hosted concerts, art exhibitions, and poetry readings, among other activities. T2F was a bastion of free thought, expression, and a cultural experience—a rare place in a country where religious extremist groups operate freely and regularly call for jihad against India.
Mahmud’s death is not the first time, nor likely the last, that an outspoken Pakistani activist will be targeted. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that at least 56 journalists have been killed in Pakistan since 1992. Three journalists were killed just last year; many were killed while covering the Balochistan insurgency.
Lisa Curtis concluded:
The killing of Sabeen Mahmud shows the extent to which freedom of speech and expression has become jeopardized in Pakistan. Moreover, it sends a signal on the dangers of dealing openly on issues related to the Indo-Pakistani conflict. Between a rise in the influence of extremist non-state actors and the military’s escalating anti-India rhetoric, Pakistani peace activists will likely find it increasingly dangerous to advocate for better Indo-Pakistani relations.