Baba Jan’s Sister Writes An Open Letter To Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan

Dear Mr. Hafiz Hafeez ur Rahman
Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan
Gilgit

Dear Mr. CM,

I, Shagufta Khanum, sister of Baba Jan, a political prisoner, request you to take notice of the inappropriate conduct of the jail authorities and violation of my brother’s rights as a prisoner, at Damas Jail, Ghizer District, Gilgit-Baltistan.

I am not being allowed to visit my brother in jail, on unjustifiable and arbitrary grounds. My brother is not being provided with appropriate food and is being forced to survive on only bread and water.

Please allow me to elaborate on the events and information on which I base the above statement:

At 12:00 PM on Saturday, March 14, 2020 I reached Damas Jail in Ghizer District after travelling for 7 hours from Hunza, with the intention of meeting my brother. However, I was not allowed past the gate. Please note that Saturdays (and Thursdays) are officially assigned days for visitation and my name is also included in the list of persons allowed to visit Baba Jan in prison.

Upon my inquiry about the reason for denial of entry, I was informed that visitors are not being allowed in order to protect the prisoners from Coronavirus. Moreover, I was not given any prior notification about this development.

However, I find the denial of entry, in lieu of precautionary measures to protect prisoners from Coronavirus as unjustifiable on the following grounds:

Persons sentenced to imprisonment in Damas Jail, as well as persons already imprisoned, are being moved in and out of the jail without screening them for the virus. Nor are the staff being screened. My visit to my brother was denied on arbitrary and unjust grounds.

Most Importantly, I have been informed that Baba Jan is not being provided with appropriate food. Doctors have advised Baba Jan against consumption of pulses and meat. Therefore, we (the family) used to supply him with vegetables. This has been made impossible now by the denial of entry. In the meantime, he is being forced to survive on bread and water. This situation was reported to me by another prisoner from Damas Jail, when I met him at a court session.

I would like to state here that this is the latest instance of the continued and frequent violation of my brother’s rights as a prisoner which amount to physical and psychological torture on him.

My brother is a political prisoner, imprisoned to serve punishment for his conviction in the Hunza Riots Case of 2011, along-with, 13 others. His appeal against the charges is, currently, undergoing consideration in the Supreme Appellate Court, Gilgit, Gilgit-Baltistan. Several intellectuals including Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Mir Muhammad Ali Talpur and Aziz Ali Dad have signed petitions appealing for Baba Jan’s release.

During the last 9 years, hundreds of protests have been held for his freedom throughout the country, and worldwide. We have protested across the country and yet we await justice. On the other hand, his rights are being violated and he is being perpetually mistreated and subjected to different types of torture.

I humbly request you, the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, to take note of the unjust and cruel treatment faced by my brother. That the provision of his constitutional rights, including visitation, food and healthcare be ensured. The jail authorities must allow us to continue providing vegetables to him as this is the only kind of food he can safely consume.

Shagufta Khanum
Sister of Baba Jan