“Ehsan Ali and four other members of the Awaami Action Committee (AAC) were arrested in March by the Pakistani government on false charges of terrorism. The real reason for their arrest is that the AAC has been leading a grassroots movement to resist the Pakistani government’s looting and political repression in the region of Gilgit-Baltistan. The AAC has gained a large following among poor and exploited people of all ethnic and religious backgrounds. Recently, the Pakistani government used the pretext of its war with Afghanistan to suppress political dissent by arresting activists. This is a blatant violation of the democratic right to free speech and the right of assembly.
The situation is life or death. Ehsan Ali, the leader of the AAC, is elderly and and in poor health. He has been denied medical care by the authorities and we have received reports that orders have been given to “let him die” in prison.
Last year, the Pakistani government imprisoned and tortured prominent leaders of the AAC for months. But we were able to get them released thanks to an international campaign of pressure on the Pakistani state. We mobilized protestors around the world to send thousands of letters and phone calls to Pakistani consulates. Prominent left-wing figures like Chris Smalls of the Amazon Labour Union and Yanis Varoufakis, as well as several trade unions publicly endorsed our campaign and helped us to free the political prisoners. We need to free them again, and in order to do this, we need to spread the word as far as possible! This is where we could use your help.
We are asking people around the world to participate in our day of action on April 2:
https://marxist.com/hands-off-ehsan-ali-and-aac.htm
In Montreal, we will be demonstrating outside the Pakistani Consulate (3421 Peel St) on April 2 at 8:30-10am.
[N.B. by the time this info reached SAWCC it was too late to inform members.]
Use your platform to share information about the political repression of the AAC in Pakistan.”
FYI, documentation from other sources as well on the situation.
Report from the UN Human Rights Council (dated 26 June 2025)
on the issue of Gilgit-Baltistan and the repression there.
https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/59/NGO/291
Report from URPO (Under-represented People’s Organization), Netherlands
dated 20th March 2026
https://unpo.org/unpo-raises-alarm-over-denial-of-medical-treatment-to-gilgit-baltistan-activist/
Article from the Pakistan Journal of Development Economics (2023), in which
some of those who have been detained are referenced.
https://pide.org.pk/research/pakistans-historical-neglect-of-gilgit-baltistan/
image source: https://marxist.com/hands-off-ehsan-ali-and-aac.htm