Zar Ali Khan Afridi
Zar Ali Khan Afridi is a Pakistani human rights defender. In 2009 he founded the Society for Rights and Development, a human rights NGO based in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), a region of Pakistan that Zar defines a “Human Rights Free Zone”. In 2010 he launched a network of NGOs in Fata, the Tribal NGOs Consortium, formed by 130 community-based organisations and NGOs working at the grassroots level for peace promotion, conflict resolution, conflict prevention, democracy and human rights. Zar was elected as its first and founding Chairperson.
FATA is a region bordering with Afghanistan and it is one of the most violent areas of Pakistan. Civilians have been caught in the conflict between different tribal leaders, terrorist attacks, and drones attacks. Human rights defenders are threatened by both state and non-state actors.
Pakistan is one of the most challenging countries in the region for human rights defenders, who face high risks including killing, arbitrary arrest and detention, abduction and kidnapping, surveillance, threats and judicial harassment. Many HRDs have had their offices attacked or burnt down and their colleagues killed.
