Return-Path: Received: from host.oil.ca ([206.186.236.1]) by mailin03.sul.t-online.com with esmtp id 137YRn-1IGd7oc; Thu, 29 Jun 2000 09:09:15 +0200 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by host.oil.ca (8.9.3/8.9.3) id BAA01704 for amnesty-l.list; Thu, 29 Jun 2000 01:31:03 -0400 X-Authentication-Warning: host.oil.ca: majordom set sender to owner-amnesty-l@oil.ca using -f Received: from amnesty.oil.ca (IDENT:amnesty@amnesty.oil.ca [206.186.236.10]) by host.oil.ca (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id BAA01701 for ; Thu, 29 Jun 2000 01:31:01 -0400 From: amnesty@amnesty.oil.ca Received: (from amnesty@localhost) by amnesty.oil.ca (8.9.3/8.8.7) id XAA25050 for amnesty-L@oil.ca; Wed, 28 Jun 2000 23:58:07 -0400 Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 23:58:07 -0400 Message-Id: <200006290358.XAA25050@amnesty.oil.ca> To: amnesty-L@oil.ca Subject: PAKISTAN: Afghan Intellectuals at risk Sender: owner-amnesty-l@oil.ca Precedence: bulk Reply-To: owner-amnesty-l@host.oil.ca * News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International * AI Index ASA 33/005/2000 News Service Nr. 126 29 June 2000 Pakistan Afghan Intellectuals at risk Until the government of Pakistan takes decisive action to end the harassment and political intimidation of Afghan intellectuals living as refugees in Pakistan, dozens of prominent Afghans will remain at risk of deportation and human rights abuses, Amnesty International warned today. Amnesty International is concerned for the safety and whereabouts of noted Afghan scholar and former lecturer at Kabul University, Professor Mohammad Rahim Elham, who was deported to Afghanistan by the Pakistani authorities on 21 June. The Pakistani authorities have said Mr Elham was deported for making anti-Pakistan statements and accusing Pakistan of interfering in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. However Amnesty International believes he was deported for exercising his right to freedom of opinion and expression. The deportation of Mr Elham to Afghanistan has created anxiety amongst prominent Afghans living as refugees in Pakistan. The Taleban Foreign Minister has said that Mr Elham will be safe in Afghanistan provided he respects the law. However, over the past two years scores of prominent Afghans advocating an end to the war and the establishment of a government representing all ethnic groups have been detained by the Taleban and tortured. Over a dozen have been killed after their arrest. Dozens of Afghans living in Pakistan have received death threats and several of them have been assassinated. Mr Elham's deportation is in breach of a recent agreement between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNNHCR) and the Government of Pakistan for joint assessment of Afghan refugee claims prior to deportation . The government of Pakistan has yet to respond to a call by the UNHCR for an assessment of Mr Elham's case, the first case under the new agreement. Pakistan has also breached the fundamental principle of non-refoulement, considered to be a rule of international customary law. Two weeks before the deportation of Mr Elham, another Afghan writer living in Pakistan was shot and wounded at his home in Peshawar, Pakistan. Mohammad Enam Wak, also a leading member of the nationalist party Afghan Mellat, had just published a book written in which he debated the formation of a state on the basis of ethnic identity. There has been no investigation into the shooting. Both writers appear to have been targeted on the basis of their political views. Amnesty International is urging the Pakistani government to allow Mr Elham to re-enter Pakistan to seek protection; to investigate the attempted assassination of Mr Enam Wak and bring those responsible to justice; and to ensure that no Afghans living as refugees in Pakistan are subjected to deportation for exercising their right to freedom of opinion. Amnesty International is also calling upon the Taleban authorities to ensure the safety of Mr Elham. ENDS.../ Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom **************************************************************** You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main text is not altered in any way and both the header crediting Amnesty International and this footer remain intact. Only the list subscription message may be removed. **************************************************************** To subscribe to amnesty-L, send a message to with "subscribe amnesty-L" in the message body. To unsubscribe, send a message to with "unsubscribe amnesty-L" in the message body. If you have problem signing off, contact . handles only messages concerning list administration. Past and current Amnesty news services can be found at . Visit for information about Amnesty International and for other AI publications. Contact amnestyis@amnesty.org if you need to get in touch with the International Secretariat of Amnesty International.