family, the child was reported missing on 15 May, but the police refused to investigate the case or register a missing person report for five days. Farishta's father told the BBC that the police did not take the case seriously, and instead the police would ask him to "carry out chores for them around the police station for several days, including cleaning their offices and bringing them fruit for their iftar [fast-breaking dinner during Ramadan]." Because of the protests against Farishta's murder, Ismail received a 30-day travel ban and a further application was raised to block her social media accounts. Justice Aamer Farooq of the Islamabad High Court remarked that it was necessary to take appropriate action if anybody talked against the state or its institutions. Besides Ismail, the court also issued notices to her fellow PTM leaders Manzoor Pashteen, Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar. After the Kharqamar incident on 26 May 2019, the government intensified its crackdown on PTM, arresting Ali Wazir, Mohsin Dawar and other PTM activists. Because of receiving death threats and the treason allegations against her, Ismail decided to go into hiding. On 10 June 2019, several local news outlets reported that Ismail was arrested in Peshawar but her father said the news had not been confirmed by the police. Her father told the Voice of America: "Last night, police raided our relatives and family friends’ houses in Peshawar in an attempt to arrest her, but she was not there. I have no contact with her and don’t know her whereabouts." A massive police operation was launched to find her but she was able to evade capture, eventually able to cross out of Pakistan. Ismail's family and relatives, however, were kept under digital and physical surveillance for several months, with raids on her family home and torture of her friends in an attempt to get information about her. In July 2019, Humanists International and more than 40 other humanist organizations signed an open letter to the United States Congress, urging it to intervene and question the visiting Pakistani delegation in the US led by prime minister Imran Khan. Humanists International’s director of advocacy, Elizabeth O’Casey, made a statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council, saying "we call on Pakistan, a member of this Council, to revoke the charges against Gulalai with urgency, to instead protect and cherish a citizen who speaks truth to power in