Human rights activist Gulalai Ismail escaped from Pakistani intelligence agencies due to life threats and has reached the US.
According to details, 32-year-old Ms. Gulalai’s name was in a kill list reportedly by Pakistani secret services. She has now applied for Political asylum in New York.
She did not disclose how she managed to leave the country. All she told the American newspaper was: “I didn’t fly out of any airport.”
“I can’t tell you any more… My exit story will put many lives at risk.”
In November 2018, the Islamabad High Court was informed that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had recommended putting Ismail’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL) for her alleged anti-state activities abroad, Dawn News reported.
Following a petition by Ismail challenging the government’s decision to put her name on the ECL, the Islamabad High Court had ordered the removal of her name from the list.
The court, however, had allowed the Interior Ministry to take appropriate action, including confiscation of her passport, in the light of recommendations made by ISI, NDTV reported
According to the New York Times report, Ismail had remained a fugitive since late May.
“Security services were searching for her in every corner of the country, raiding her friends’ houses and closing in on her family,” Dawn reported.
The report added that Ismail was still worried about her parents in Islamabad “who face charges of financing terrorism and remain under heavy surveillance”.
In January, she aired accusations, on Facebook and Twitter, that government soldiers had raped or sexually abused many Pakistani women. She has also joined protests led by an ethnic Pashtun movement that Pakistan’s military has tried to crush. Pakistani officials have accused Ms. Ismail of sedition, inciting treason and defaming state institutions, New York Times report read.