Pakistani Blogger Alleges ISI Threatened His Family to Silence Him
Ahmad Waqass Goraya alleged ISI tried to frame his family on charges of terrorism, possession of weapons in 2017.
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Pakistani activist and blogger Ahmad Waqass Goraya took to Twitter on 20 June to allege that his family has been harassed by the Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in an attempt to silence him and teach him a lesson.
In a series of tweets posted on 21 June, Goraya alleged that men from the ISI visited his family members multiple times, including on 20 June, threatening to abduct and torture them and attempting to frame charges of terrorism and possession of weapons against them.
Goraya, who has alleged "torture" by the country’s government authorities in the past, currently resides in the Netherlands.
The activist alleged that his family approached the police and the court, to no avail.
Expressing concern over how "a political fight is being turned into an ugly personal fight," Goraya dismissed the supposed attempts by the armed forces to engage in dialogue with activists as a mere "image-building exercise".
Indicating his resolve to keep fighting for his rights in the face of such threats, he says:
In January 2017, Goraya was reported missing along with several other activists. Later, he alleged that during the period of his disappearance, he was tortured "beyond limits" and "for pleasure" by a "government institution" associated with the military, reported BBC News.
As per the report, Goraya has earned the ire of authorities over his handling of a Facebook page that took digs at the Pakistani military, including on its actions in Balochistan. He has also been accused of blasphemy by religious groups.
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