The recent allegations made by Asma Jahangir that elements in Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies have plotted to kill her are highly alarming. There is strong speculation that her speech at the recent Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA’s) conference on Balochistan is what has aroused the ire of the agencies. She had said at the conference that the kill and dump policy of the agencies in Balochistan has now travelled to Sindh, where Sindhi nationalists in recent days have suffered the same unwanted attention. Asma Jahangir is globally recognized for her human rights work and is one of Pakistan’s most respected lawyers and activists. In a career that has spanned over 30 years, she has tirelessly championed women and minority rights and established the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and AGHS Legal Aid Centre. She played a prominent role in the lawyers movement and was the first ever woman to be elected president of the SCBA. Jahangir is one of the few to consistently criticize the rampant human rights violations by the military and intelligence — particularly those in Balochistan — that continue on almost a daily basis. Unsurprisingly, it’s been a dangerous journey. Jahangir spoke to the Pakistani media, saying it had been brought to her attention by a credible source that an assassination attempt was being planned against her from “the highest levels of the security establishment.” She believed it was best to go public with the knowledge. Asma Jahangir’s claims must be investigated. The security services have a long-standing charge-sheet against them of killing and dumping those it deems dissidents. They breed fear. Their chilling past — whether funding jihadist groups or torturing and disappearing Baloch separatists and vocal journalists to set a twisted precedent — speaks for itself. At some point, the agencies — theoretically meant to protect the Pakistani people — need to be held accountable. Pakistan’s future as a democratic state depends on it. An aura of omnipotence has allowed them to get away with high-profile murders far too easily and for far too long. A thorough and transparent investigation must take place into the matter, with conclusive results as to whether the assertions are true or not. Human Rights Watch director Ali Dayan Hasan put it best: “A threat against (Ms) Jahangir is a threat to all those in Pakistan who struggle for human rights and the rule of law.*