This petition seeks legal and punitive action against the website “Humsub”, (humsub.com.pk), owned/edited by Wajahat Masood, and Adnan Khan Kakar, and published from Pakistan.

The website indulged in spreading hate speech by publishing and promotion of falsehood and propaganda material against the Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, His Highness the Aga Khan, who is the religious and spiritual leader of around 15 million people spread across the world.

The website, HumSub.com.pk, published a fictional, concocted, malafide and hateful feature about the Aga Khan, using doctored and edited photographs collected from internet search engines.

 Many of the images have already been proven fake, and doctored, and promoted online by hatemongers to spread hate against the Aga Khan, and his followers, millions of whom live peacefully across Pakistan.

The causes for punitive action against the said website are the following:

-          The writer, Noman Fareed, has used highly objectionable language against a religious figure revered globally for his humanitarian work, and followed by 15 million Ismailis as a religious guide and leader.

-          Around 3 million Ismailis living in Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Karachi, Islamabad, Multan, Gwadar, Lahore, Peshawar, and Abbottabad, are deeply offended by the baseless allegations leveled against the Aga Khan, and their religious sentiments have been willfully hurt by the writer/editor/moderator/publisher.

-          The write has no first-hand knowledge of the subject matter and most of his accounts are based on black legend, lies, his own ignorance and hate, and gathering of concocted hate speech from other hateful writers/publishers and online sources.

-          The publishers/editer, by posting the hate speech against Shah Karim Al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, and his family, have proven to be accomplices in the crime of willful and malicious propaganda, which is against the most basic ethics of journalism.

-          The publishing of falsehood and lies through a widely-read website has not only attempted to dent the image of the Aga Khan, but has also put the lives and well-being of his followers, particularly those based in Pakistan, at risk, by ridiculing their faith, belief and religious practices, and by exposing them to risks at the hands of terrorists and militant, sectarian organizations, who have in the past attacked the Ismailis on several occasions.

This is a blatant contravention of the National Action Plan, which prohibits publishers from posting hate speech and falsehood about public personalities.

-          The editor/writer/moderator/owner of the webmaster have not only published malicious mischievous text, but also used fake photographs to overtly berate the Aga Khan and his followers, who have always stood for the well-being, prosperity and peace of Pakistan.

In light of the causes explained above, we demand that:

-          Humsub should immediately remove the baseless feature, including the text and the doctored/edited photographs

-          Humsub should issue a public apology for using fake and doctored images to represent His Highness the Aga Khan, who is a global leader, respected for his wisdom, for his legacy and history, and for the office of Imamat that he represents and holds.

-          The Government of Pakistan should register a case against the publisher/owner, editor, moderator and the writer, for spreading lies, engaging in hate-speech, using doctored and fake photographs for malicious and malafide purposes.