On 2 April, hundreds of supporters, students and trade union activists assembled outside Pakistani diplomatic missions across the globe in a coordinated international day of action demanding the immediate release of Ehsan Ali and all other detained leaders of the Awami Action Committee in Gilgit-Baltistan (AAC-GB).
The protests were organised against a backdrop of real urgency. Over the preceding weekend, alarming reports emerged from Gilgit-Baltistan concerning Ehsan Ali’s deteriorating health. According to accounts from the region, Amara Sattar, Sub-Divisional Police Officer of Danyor, Gilgit Circle, was informed of Ehsan Ali’s critical condition and of a court order requiring his transfer to the hospital. Her reported response was chilling: that orders from ‘high-ups’ took priority, and that the prisoner should simply be left to die. This alone underscores why international solidarity is not merely symbolic — it is a matter of life and death.
Background to the arrests
Ehsan Ali, chairman of the AAC-GB and a veteran advocate for the rights of working people in the region, was arrested on the night of 10 March during a police raid on his home. Several other AAC leaders — including Nusrat Hussain, Mehboob Wali, Nafees Advocate and Mehar Ali — were also detained in subsequent raids. Others have been forced into hiding.
Their alleged crime? Attending an iftar dinner on 8 March at which AAC leaders discussed potential protests against price hikes, the Land Reform Act and other issues affecting ordinary people. For this, they have been charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act, alongside sections 153-A and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code, dealing with incitement to violence.
Let us be clear: these leaders have been charged with terrorism for organising peaceful, democratic activity in defence of their communities. The judge at Ehsan Ali’s hearing on 26 March reportedly acknowledged that attending an iftar dinner does not constitute a crime, let alone an act of terrorism.
Ehsan Ali, who is in his sixties, has been held in appalling conditions. Despite court orders on two separate occasions — 11 March and 18 March — he was not transferred to hospital. He subsequently developed pneumonia and lost consciousness while in police custody.
A decade of struggle, a pattern of repression
Ehsan Ali founded the AAC-GB in 2014 as a community defence organisation fighting for the rights of ordinary people in a region left in deep poverty despite its abundant natural resources. Over the past decade, the AAC-GB has campaigned for democratic rights, the maintenance of subsidies on essential goods such as wheat flour, improved access to healthcare and education, and an end to the environmental destruction driven by unregulated exploitation of the territory’s mineral wealth and water resources.
The state has responded with escalating repression. Ehsan Ali was placed on the Fourth Schedule — a severe anti-terrorism restriction on freedom of movement. In May 2025, a wave of arrests targeted 15 AAC-GB leaders, all tried under anti-terrorism legislation. They were eventually released following a powerful international solidarity campaign backed by hundreds of trade unionists, politicians and activists worldwide. That campaign proved the power of collective action — and it is this same solidarity that must be mobilised again.
Growing international support
The 2 April day of action drew endorsements from prominent figures across the labour movement. These included John McDonnell MP, former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer; Ian Hodson, National President of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU); Kshama Sawant, former Seattle City Council member and independent socialist; and Glauber Braga, Brazilian Federal Deputy for PSOL, who sent a video message of solidarity.
The campaign also received backing from Secours Rouge in Toulouse, France, and from trade union bodies internationally. The message from all quarters was the same: the criminalisation of peaceful community organisers through anti-terrorism laws is an attack on the rights of workers everywhere.
Solidarity actions around the world — 2 April 2026
Protests took place outside Pakistani embassies, high commissions and consulates across Europe, the Americas and beyond. Below are photographs received from solidarity actions around the world.
London, United Kingdom – outside the Pakistan High Commission
Bradford, United Kingdom – outside the Pakistan Consulate
Berlin, Germany – outside the Pakistan Embassy
Brussels, Belgium – outside the Pakistan Embassy
France – solidarity action for Ehsan Ali and the AAC-GB
France – supporters demand the release of AAC-GB leaders
France – #FreeEhsanAli solidarity action
Copenhagen, Denmark – outside the Pakistan Embassy
Rome, Italy – outside the Pakistan Embassy
Stockholm, Sweden – outside the Pakistan Embassy
Madrid, Spain – outside the Pakistan Embassy
Dublin, Ireland – outside the Pakistan Embassy
Warsaw, Poland – outside the Pakistan Embassy
Mexico City, Mexico – outside the Pakistan Embassy
Los Angeles, United States – solidarity protest
New York, United States – outside the Pakistan Consulate
How you can help
The solidarity campaign continues and needs the broadest possible support from the trade union and labour movement. We urge readers to take the following steps:
- Write to politicians, trade union leaders and public figures asking them to support the campaign for the release of all detained AAC-GB leaders. [Model Letter]
- Pass motions of solidarity in your union branches, trades councils and labour movement organisations. [Model Motion]
- Raise the case with your elected representatives and demand they speak out against the use of anti-terrorism legislation to suppress legitimate protest.
- Share information about the campaign on social media and within your networks to keep the pressure on the Pakistani authorities.
- Donate to the Campaign to help fund communications, legal costs, campaign materials and solidarity activities. Donations can be made via
- PayPal at www.paypal.me/ptus or by
- Bank transfer to:
- Account Title: Pakistan Trade Union Solidarity
- Bank: Lloyds Bank, United Kingdom
- UK Account No: 77669468 ; UK Sort Code: 30-64-42
- International Transfer: IBAN: GB52LOYD30644277669468.
Visit pakistansolidarity.org/donate for full details.
Successes and endorsements can be reported to the campaign at
contact@pakistansolidarity.org
The right to organise, to protest and to fight for justice is universal. When that right is under attack anywhere, it is under attack everywhere.
An injury to one is an injury to all.
Free Ehsan Ali! Release all political prisoners in Gilgit-Baltistan!