Renowned scholar Noam Chomsky has written an open letter to Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif demanding immediate actions on the human rights situation in the country after the ouster of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
The academics have urged the relevant authorities of Pakistan to ensure basic human rights such as freedom of speech, religion/belief and peaceful assembly.
The letter from Chomsky, along with a group of academics, dated May 26, has stated that freedom of speech, use of blasphemy cases for political purposes, intimidation and harassment of journalists along with social media and political activists in the country are human rights violations.
In the letter, the academics have taken up the issue of blasphemy cases against PTI leadership as a political vendetta against rivals. Concerns are also raised upon the arrest of political opponents along with raids and cases against politicians and journalists with hacked, stolen and snatched electronic devices.
According to the writers of the letter, these are troubling developments that are in violation of democratic requirements along with the fundamental right of freedom of speech.
