By: ChandrashekarBhat
A MAN accused of plotting to kill an exiled Pakistani political blogger appeared in a British court on Monday (19), in a case linked to concerns about human rights in the south Asian country.
Muhammad Gohir Khan, 31, was charged last month with conspiracy to murder Ahmad Waqass Goraya, one of five activists who vanished in Pakistan in January 2017.
Goraya was freed nearly a month after his abduction along with at least three others and he swiftly fled back to the Netherlands, where he has lived for the past decade.
Khan, who lives in east London, appeared at the capital’s Old Bailey court by video link from custody for a preliminary hearing.
A plea hearing has been set for October 29 and a trial scheduled for January. He was remanded back into custody.
Khan was charged after an investigation was launched by the Met Police’s Counter Terrorism Command unit and he previously appeared at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 29, Dawn said citing sources.
Goraya was allegedly attacked outside his home in Rotterdam, prompting the Reporters Without Borders to call on the Dutch authorities to protect the blogger.
However, Goraya told Dawn that Khan’s arrest was linked to another incident which took place on February 12, when the Dutch police informed him that his life was in danger. He was shifted from his home to a secure place.
“Someone had tweeted a picture of the inside of my house,” Goraya said. “I had shown that photo to the police which prompted an investigation.”
He said British police visited him in the Netherlands to record his statement.
Goraya, who like the other activists, criticised religious extremism and the military establishment in Pakistan, accuses the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency of threatening his life.
No group claimed responsibility for the activists’ abduction, and Pakistan’s government and military have denied their involvement.
Last year, an exiled Pakistani journalist was found dead in Sweden and another activist died in Canada.
