Pakistan Jails Lawyers for 'Anti-State' Posts as US Condemns, Ignores Its Own Anti-Speech Funding
📰 THE STORY: ABC News reports that two Pakistani human rights lawyers, Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Lr. Alam, have been sentenced to 17 years in prison for 'anti-state' social media posts following a protest in November 2023. The report frames this as a blow to freedom of speech in Pakistan. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The US has consistently provided significant
military and economic aid to Pakistan, often overlooking its human rights record in favor of strategic geopolitical interests. Since 1948, Pakistan has received over $72 billion in US aid (USAID data), much of which flows directly to the military, enabling the very state apparatus that silences dissent. This long history includes supporting military dictatorships (e.g., General Zia-ul-Haq's regime
in the 1980s, which implemented harsh blasphemy laws and suppressed political opposition) under the guise of Cold War alliances and later the 'War on Terror.' Double Standard: While Western media outlets like ABC condemn Pakistan for jailing lawyers over speech, the US itself selectively applies free speech principles. Washington openly funds and supports regimes globally (like Egypt and Saudi
Arabia) that routinely imprison journalists and activists without international outcry from major American news desks. Furthermore, in nations targeted for regime change, 'free speech' is championed; in allied nations, such crackdowns are often relegated to 'internal affairs' or soft condemnation. Contrast ABC's sustained coverage of this issue with its relative silence on the imprisonment of