ISLAMABAD: The murder of beloved rights activist and The Second Floor (T2F) Director Sabeen Mahmud overshadowed proceedings on the second day of the Islamabad Literature Festival. Perhaps sensing what was in everyone’s hearts, the festival’s management replaced a session originally supposed to feature noted writer Mohammad Hanif with one held specifically in remembrance of Ms Mahmud’s life.

Moments of silence were observed at several panels, before Asif Farrukhi, moderating the remembrance session, declared that there would be no more silences and speakers would talk about Ms Mahmud’s life for the full hour at their disposal.

Oxford University Press’ Ameena Saiyid, novelist Shandana Minhas, Dr Framji Minwalla and poet Zehra Nigah, in turn, paid homage to the departed and praised her zeal for not only helping others, but also towards making Pakistan a better, more tolerant place.

“It is very hard for me to speak in the past tense about people who I have considered to be like my own children,” Ms Nigah said as she opened her remarks, adding wistfully, “Woh asar hee khatam hogaya, jo maut ki khabar sun kar hona chahiye” (The news of someone’s death no longer has the same effect it used to have).

Mr Farrukhi, Dr Minwalla and Ms Minhas insisted that Ms Mahmud had received threats even before T2F held the now-infamous talk on #UnsilencingBalochistan. Farrukhi mentioned a conversation from last week, where the former T2F director told him that she had received a bullet attached to a letter.

He also drew parallels between Ms Mahmud and Parveen Rehman, the fearless director of the Orangi Pilot Project who had taken on Karachi’s land mafia and paid for it with her life.

But this did not go down well with those in the audience who had no patience for beating around the bush.

In quick succession, rights activist Naeem Mirza, the Awami Workers Party’s Alia Amir Ali and veteran human rights activist Hina Jilani stood up and took issue with the panel’s account, insisting that they talk about the reason why Sabeen Mahmud was silenced.

Mr Mirza said Parveen Rahman was killed for speaking out against the land mafia; Rashid Rehman was killed in Multan for representing a blasphemy accused; while Ms Mahmud challenged the status quo by arranging a talk on Balochistan and was also subsequently killed.

The panelists defended their decision to lead by celebrating Sabeen Mahmud’s life, saying it was unfair to such a renaissance woman if her legacy was reduced to just one of the causes that she had chosen to champion.

In another session, Aasim Sajjad Akhtar of the AWP interrupted his talk on transgender issues to have his say on the matter. “I don’t trust the state. There is such a long history of the state trampling over the rights and freedoms of ordinary people, in the law of reason

and rationality. For example, who killed Sabeen Mahmud? If anyone says it’s anyone but the state, they are lying,” he said, in no unclear terms.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2015

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