London – CAGE is calling on Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to immediately release or bring to trial Pakistani national and spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir (Pakistan), Naveed Butt.

Naveed Butt was abducted by Pakistani ISI security forces on 11th May, 2012 while collecting his children from school. He has not been heard from since. Today marks eight years since his enforced disappearance.

Butt was an outspoken critic of the Pakistani government and in particular he spoke out against Pakistan’s role in the US-led “War on Terror”. His criticism included the use of enforced disappearances that began under the leadership of General Pervez Musharraf [1] .

Director of outreach for CAGE, Moazzam Begg said:

“Long before he became Prime Minister, I spoke to Imran Khan about enforced disappearances. He believed that they had to stop for the country to advance. It is disappointing – and embarrassing for Khan – that people like Naveed Butt remain ‘disappeared’ in Pakistani custody without access to basic legal redress.”

“At a time when Pakistan prides itself for bringing peace to the restive tribal regions and participating in the unprecedented peace negotiations with the Taliban, it is time that all the disappeared, including Naveed Butt, were freed and reunited with their loved ones.”

[ends]

Notes

[1]  Under Musharraf, Pakistan handed over hundreds of prisoners to the US who were subsequently imprisoned without charge at Guantanamo. Aafia Siddiqui also disappeared at that time.