Abduction of my father attempt to terrorise Pakistanis who dare to use 'conditional rights': Gulalai Ismail

Prominent human rights activist Gulalai Ismail on Thursday called the abduction of her father in Peshawar an attempt to terrorise the women of Pakistan and others who dare to use their "conditional rights".

"Abduction of my father is an attempt to terrorise women of Pakistan who've got fathers' backs; to stifle dissent, to terrorise people who dare use their conditional rights," Ismail tweeted.

The activist was responding to a tweet by another human rights activist who said she is worried that Gulalai's father would be tortured.

Ismail, who has sought political asylum in the United States, has claimed that her father was picked up by "men wearing militia dress" from outside the Peshawar High Court on Thursday.

The women's rights activist was accused of treason in Pakistan and later managed to escape the country in September.

During a chat with the media in New York last month, Ismail had voiced her concerns about her parents' safety in Islamabad. "I am still worried about my parents back home and the underground network that secretly protected me when I escaped," Gulalai said.

She has now become the new face of hope for the oppressed minorities in Pakistan who raise their voice against Islamabad's atrocities on the roads of New York. Last month, Ismail was seen on the streets of the city, highlighting the plight and miseries that minorities are facing for decades in Pakistan and demanded that the Pakistani Army end human rights violations. "There's a dictatorship in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by the Pakistani military establishment," Ismail had said.

According to a report in Dawn, a non-bailable warrant was issued against her by a Pakistani court in a case pertaining to maligning national institutions. Ismail had deemed the non-bailable arrest warrant as an act of appeasement before the country's intelligence agency ISI.

The order issued states that the court would initiate the process to declare her a "proclaimed offender" if the "suspect" does not appear before the court on October 21, the report had said.