Or else …
WASHINGTON DC, FEB 12, 2020: Pakistani authorities should withdraw their threats to bring terrorism charges against journalist Gul Bukhari, and should stop harassing journalists at home and abroad, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Yesterday, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency issued a statement demanding that Bukhari, a Pakistani columnist based in the UK, appear in Pakistan for questioning about her alleged online propaganda against the government within 30 days or else the agency would file terrorism charges against her, according to the statement, which CPJ reviewed.
The statement threatened that the agency would seek Bukhari’s extradition from the UK through Interpol, and could seize any property that Bukhari has in Pakistan.
Bukhari, speaking to CPJ via messaging app, said she had not been formally served with any papers, and said she did not know what sparked the agency’s threats. She said she has no plans to return to Pakistan in response to the summons. Bukhari, who is a dual British-Pakistani citizen, said she did not believe she would be extradited from the UK, but she said she felt she would need to be cautious if she traveled to other countries.
She has recently written columns critical of Pakistan’s government for the Indian news websites The Quint and The Print, and frequently posts political commentary on her Twitter account, where she has 345,000 followers.
“Pakistani authorities should stop threatening Gul Bokhari and other journalists and critics for speaking out, whether at home or abroad”, said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Threatening to charge a journalist with terrorism and to confiscate her property over social media posts or published articles is absurd, and only reveals the government’s extreme insecurity.”