A Call to End the Forced Disappearance of Naveed Butt in Pakistan
Press Release
(Translated)
It has been nine years since Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) abducted the Official Spokesman of Hizb ut Tahrir in the Wilayah of Pakistan, Engineer Naveed Butt, on May 11, 2012.
Concerning this incident, the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in the Wilayah of Pakistan have issued two press releases:
The first press releaseon 03/01/2021: “A Production Order for Naveed Butt was Issued on 4 January 2018, yet No Sight or Sound of Him Since his Enforced Disappearance on 11 May 2012.”
The second press releaseon 02/05/2021: “During the Blessed Month of Ramadan, Call for the Release of Naveed Butt, Truthful Advocate of the Khilafah, Held in Abduction Since 11th May 2012.”
Naveed is an upright man who was living in Lahore, a family man, an electrical engineer, a devoted Muslim, a rare breed in strategic and political thinking and the official spokesman of the well-established political party Hizb ut Tahrir, in the Wilayah of Pakistan. This is but a shortlist of Naveed’s qualities, none of which mattered to the Pakistan intelligence agencies when Naveed was bundled into one of their infamous “security vans” by a group of officials wearing uniforms, in front of his children whom he had just brought back from school.
Naveed belongs to a special breed of Muslim political thinkers that have the unique ability to pierce the cloak of deception that has been cast over the rotten political landscape. This is why Naveed was able to envision the real “road map” through which his beloved motherland Pakistan could realize its greatness. A vision through which Pakistan can rightfully leverage its geographic, demographic, natural and technological assets, to become the center of power within South and Central Asia. A vision through which Pakistan can assume the status of a major power in Asia and bring about the second revival of the Islamic Ummah, restoring it upon its 1400-year-old legacy.
The injustice afflicted upon Naveed was due to his well-grounded criticism of the decisions and actions of high ranking politicians and officials, whether in the government or in the armed forces. Decisions and actions that were, on the one hand, systematically crippling Pakistan’s capabilities, and on the other hand, tearing down the centuries-old cohesion amongst the Muslim communities, that has long flourished in this part of Asia.
One of Naveed’s criticisms was of the full-scale war that Pervez Musharraf continuously waged upon the people of Pakistan’s western tribal regions. It was a war in which the Pakistan Army had to fight and kill their brothers and sisters of the tribes of the FATA region. This was all for the sake of easing pressure upon the US military invasion, across the border in Afghanistan. A catastrophic seventeen-year war ensued, during which cities, schools, businesses and homes were destroyed. Tens of thousands of Muslims were martyred, hundreds of thousands were displaced and a major tear in the fabric of the Muslim communities inside Pakistan occurred that has yet to be mended.
Naveed openly criticized the corrupt generals and agent officials, who enabled the dangerous proliferation of American influence inside the most sensitive nerve centers of the army and government institutions. All manner of American FBI and CIA officials have been stationed inside the General Headquarters (GHQ), the directorate of Military Operations (MO) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate of the Pakistan’s armed forces, to maintain control and oversight. With the aid of those corrupt generals and politicians, the US has now taken over decision-making regarding nuclear and conventional armament, as well the decisions of war and peace in Pakistan.Allah (swt) said,
[يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِن تُطِيعُواْ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ يَرُدُّوكُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ فَتَنقَلِبُواْ خَاسِرِينَ]
“O you who believe! If you obey those who disbelieve, they will turn you back on your heels, and you end up losers.” [Surah Aali-Imran 3:149].
Since the abduction of Naveed, all successive governments in Pakistan have shamelessly refused to disclose his whereabouts. They have not even eased the suffering of his beloved ones by bringing him out for a brief family reunion. For nigh on a decade, they have all callously turned a deaf ear to the appeals made by his family, his brothers in the Islamic Ummah and all who sympathized with his suffering. On the contrary, the intelligence agencies have made intimations to his family that if Naveed does not halt his political endeavor, he will be martyred and his body unceremoniously dumped.
Here we are today, entering the tenth year of his abduction. We continue to tirelessly demand his release and call upon every Muslim, young or old, near or far, to take part in this blessed effort. Indeed, Naveed’s abduction represents a point of collision, between the will of the righteous and the will of the treacherous.
To the Sincere and Loyal Officers of All Ranks in Pakistan’s Armed Forces
Recite the noble ayah’s that accompany the emblems that decorate your shoulders. Remember the original combat doctrine of your army. Look at the treachery that has been unleashed upon your brother and sisters of FATA, Jammu and Kashmir. Behold the inaction towards the oppressed in Myanmar, Kashmir, in Masjid Al-Aqsa and in the Gaza Strip.
We ask you… when did Pakistan’s armed forces become an army of words, instead of actions?! When did the guardians of Islam become mere spectators of events?! What good are the weapons that you carry, if not to deter and retaliate?! Why aren’t the Muslim lions of Pakistan’s armed forces projecting their power across the world, instead of American thuggery?!
Brother Naveed is one of the shabab known for their commitment to the rulings of Islam and good manners, a truthful thinker and a prominent politician… He presented a truthful road map that would bring goodness and salvation for Pakistan and all the Muslim countries in the world… the road map of the Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided Caliphate) on the Method of the Prophet Muhammad (saw)… However, instead of honoring and appreciating him, the corrupt elements among you abducted him to an unknown place, La Hawla wala Quwatta illa Billah… Therefore, we ask each of the sincere amongst you to pressurize the concerned authorities for the immediate release of brother Naveed, returning him to his family, so he again takes up the podium to speak the truth, with the rest of his brothers in Hizb ut Tahrir.
To the Esteemed Members of the Diplomatic Missions of Pakistan:
You represent the image, reputation, history and status quo of the people of Pakistan to the world. Naveed’s enforced disappearance taints the reputation of justice in your motherland. We call upon you to take your part in stopping this embarrassment that the government has brought upon itself.
To every Muslim that yearns to see the days of glory of the Ummah shining again,
To every journalist who has taken upon himself to expose oppression and injustice,
We Call Upon You All:
Come forth to take your part in this campaign to put pressure on the Government of Pakistan and the generals of its army to release Naveed Butt, reuniting him with his family.
Allah (swt) said:
[وَإِنِ اسْتَنصَرُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ فَعَلَيْكُمُ النَّصْرُ]
“But if they ask you for help in Deen, you must come to their aid” [Al-Anfal: 72].
#FreeNaveedButt
Eng. Salah Eddine Adada
Director of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir