Please pray for my family in Pakistan...

As I write this blog post, two ISI agents have once again visited my in-laws’ house. This appears to be a further attempt by the Pakistani High Commission to intimidate the BPCA into staying quiet. This is now the third visit to my father-in-law, and, as you can imagine, the entire family is deeply upset and anxious about how insidious this development is. Read the previous post here:

http://britishpakistanichristian.blogspot.com/2011/05/wilson-reports-on-why-he-has-been.html

Today, the officers have accused my family in Pakistan of sending anti-Islamic messages through the BPCA and have stated that they will continue to make impromptu visits.

Several times, I have sought from the High Commission an explanation for the visits from ISI agents to my in-laws, along with a request for details of an appeals process regarding my ban from Pakistan. I have yet to receive any response.

Today, I will copy our network into the original email and urge you all to send a message of support using the contact details provided, asking for a halt to this pernicious treatment of myself and my family—which appears to have intensified as our protest draws nearer:

http://britishpakistanichristian.blogspot.com/2010/11/protest-march-against-blasphemy-law-on.html

For those of you who are not on my email distribution list, I am including a copy of the letter that has been sent by recorded post and email to the High Commissioner’s Office:

Your Excellency Wajid shamul Hasan High Commissioner of Pakistan.

Re: Ban from Pakistan

Dear His Excellency High Commissioner for Pakistan Wajid Shamshul Hasan,

I am writing to formally request the removal of my ban from travelling to Pakistan. I am concerned that this ban has been imposed on the basis of alleged rude and violent behaviour, stemming from false allegations regarding an incident involving a diplomat and a member of your staff. These allegations were subsequently dropped following a police request for CCTV footage of the incident.

I am confident that the CCTV footage would have clearly shown that I was forcibly pushed into the diplomatic confines of the High Commission building. The woman claiming to have been struck by me was not even near the affray, which was brief. In fact, your Security Officer sustained injuries to his hands on my cheekbones, resulting in the premature termination of his aggressive actions.

Fortunately, I suffered no lasting injury beyond the indignity of being detained for two hours, until the High Commission rightly decided to drop the charges, fully aware that the video evidence would have been exculpatory.

I am deeply concerned that no action appears to have been taken against the staff who orchestrated these spurious accusations. It is particularly troubling that the marginalisation of Christians, which the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) is working to challenge in Pakistan, appears to have infiltrated staff within the High Commission in the UK. This is both disconcerting and unacceptable.

Additionally, I am confused that the High Commission has been unable to locate the original letter issued by Nafees Zekaria informing me of the ban— a letter that my wife, in disgust, had torn up upon collection. Without this document, I cannot properly structure an appeal. Moreover, despite multiple requests, no appeals process has been communicated to my Personal Assistant, leaving me with no formal avenue to contest the ban.

I therefore write directly to you in the hope that the original visa exclusion letter can be located and that an appropriate channel for appeal is provided. Without such assistance, I will remain unable to visit my family in Pakistan.

Finally, I request that the High Commission review the recent visits made to my in-laws’ home in Pakistan. These visits, apparently authorised by the High Commission to gather personal information about me, have caused significant anxiety and undue pressure on an innocent Christian family. I urge that the necessity of such actions be fully questioned.

I would greatly appreciate your prompt advice and action on these matters.

Kind regards,
Wilson Chowdhry

If you would like to support my request for the removal of the ban preventing my visit to Pakistan, and for the cessation of ISI visits to my wife’s family home, please use the email addresses below to register your concerns:

His Excellency High Commissioner for Pakistan Wajid Shamshul Hasan:

wshwsh786@gmail.com

The High Commissioner's PA Naghma Butt:

ss2phc@yahoo.co.uk

PA to the General Secretary Nafees Zakaria (who imposed the ban):

tariqmkhan_1972@yahoo.com

I have been advised that the ISI are monitoring my work and movements, and I believe this threat to be genuine—driven by animosity and intended to instil fear and anxiety. I would also remind you that, during the original incident at the High Commission, a diplomat was overheard by my wife saying:

"...if Wilson continues with his campaigning we will deal with him" 

His words have now come to fruition, and I register this concern with you all so that, should anything happen to me under mysterious circumstances, those of you who have stood with me on this journey will be aware of the threat that has loomed over me for some time.