Ahmad Waqass Goraya, a Pakistani blogger living in exile, earlier this week claimed that the Pakistani authorities were responsible for ordering his murder. His claim comes after a British-Pakistani citizen Muhammed Gohir Khan was arrested for conspiring to Goraya when he was in the Netherlands last year.
Khan’s sentencing is now scheduled to take place in March later this year and he could serve a life sentence in prison for his involvement. Goraya, while speaking to news agency AFP, said that he felt happy as a new precedent was set claiming that now attempting to murder reporters and activists in exile can lead to prosecution.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan who fought Goraya’s case said that his potential killer may have been hired by unknown people based in Pakistan. Goraya, through his satirical takes on the Pakistan government in social media, invited the ire of many in Pakistan following which he left the nation and started living with his wife and children in the Netherlands.
According to the AFP report, Goraya’s potential killer spent several days in the Netherlands watching his movements and bought a professional chef’s knife. Khan left the country realising that Goraya was not present. He was arrested upon return to the UK. Additionally, Khan received several thousand pounds for expenses. The credited amount was traced to a bank in Pakistan. The London Metropolitan Police are also looking for a certain Muzzamil aka Mudz who promised $137,000 to Khan upon completion of his task.
The London Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism officers liaised with Dutch counterparts to compile a dossier of thousands of encrypted messages. They also obtained footage of Khan’s movements. Khan defended himself by saying that he never intended to commit the killing.
The Pakistani state was earlier accused of plotting to kill outspoken activists living in exile. The deaths of Baloch activists Karima Baloch and Sajid Hussain in Canada and Sweden respectively led to concerns that the Pakistani state could be behind the murders. Though in both cases, the evidence does not indicate any foul play but the deaths of both shortly after they received death threats have led their families to believe that they were killed for their activism.
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