By our correspondent
KARACHI: Abdul Rahim Rabbani, a former Guantánamo Bay detainee who spent more than two decades detained without ever being formally charged, has passed away in Karachi. Rabbani and his brother, Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani, were handed over to U.S. authorities in 2002 during the government of former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. The two men, reported to have been working as a chef and a taxi driver, were taken under allegations of extremism that were never substantiated. In exchange for their capture, U.S. authorities allegedly paid $5,000.
Initially imprisoned in Bagram, Afghanistan, the brothers faced three years of severe abuse before being transferred to Guantánamo Bay, where Abdul Rahim would endure 18 more years in conditions internationally condemned for their human rights abuses. The brothers’ case was taken on by British human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, who brought global attention to their prolonged detention and mistreatment, citing it as a significant case of injustice within the War on Terror.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, a prominent advocate for the Rabbani brothers, decried their treatment as “a dark stain on our country’s conscience.” He pointed out that, even after years of mistreatment and eventual release, neither brother received the U.S.-provided compensation that Pakistan’s government withheld. Following their return to Pakistan, the brothers received little support, living out their remaining years in abject poverty. “These men should have been welcomed back with apologies, reparations, and proper support,” Senator Mushtaq stated, “but they were abandoned.”
The death of Abdul Rahim Rabbani sheds light once again on the often-overlooked issue of Pakistani detainees held abroad. His story has sparked outrage across Pakistan, where citizens and activists alike are calling for greater accountability in how the state handles the repatriation and rehabilitation of former detainees. The lack of transparency surrounding the withheld compensation also highlights the need for a thorough investigation to ensure that funds intended to aid detainees return to their rightful beneficiaries, not lost in bureaucratic channels.
This tragic case reinforces demands for Pakistan to protect its citizens and advocate more effectively for those caught in the international justice system. Without such accountability, cases like Rabbani’s will serve as somber reminders of the lives lost to legal grey areas, and of the suffering inflicted by institutional indifference.
