WSI Rally in Front of
Pakistan Embassy
on 14 August
Washington, DC: The
World Sindhi Institute organized a peaceful protest rally
on August 14, 2007 in front of the Embassy of Pakistan.
The demonstrators accused President Pervez Musharraf's government
of violating human rights in Balochistan and Sindh and demanded
the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. American supporters
and human rights activists also joined the protesters. They
protested against the disappearance of Sindhi and Baloch
journalists, workers, human rights and political activists,
writers, poets, philosophers, teachers, students and political
opponents of the present regime, who have been arrested
extra-judicially and have been behind bars without a trial.
The WSI protestors were joined by members of Baloch Society
of North America (BSO-NA), Torture Abolition & Survivors
Support Coalition (TASSC) International, Sindhi Association
of North America (SANA), Association of Pakistani Physicians
for Justice and Democracy (APPJD), Jamhoori Watan Party
(JWP), Pakistan Muslim League(N), and some individual Human
Rights activists. This sizeable group of organizations and
individuals held a sit-in and expressed great concern over
continuing oppression in a free nation which conveys messages
that oppressive regimes in Pakistan have transformed the
Independence Day into a day commemorating human rights violations.
The protestors demanded that Dr. Safdar Sirki, a US citizen,
be released from illegal detention by the authorities in
Pakistan.
Some members of the rally delivered short speeches. Mr.
Munawar Laghari, Executive Director of WSI, said, "Sixty
years of Pakistan ’s history have witnessed denial
of truth by the establishment, military and Inter-Service
intelligence, who are truly ruling the country, not its
people.” Other speakers included Mrs. Razia Rabb,
Chairperson, Women Wing of Jamhoori Watan Party;
Mr. Sarfraz Memon, Information Secretary of SANA; Dr. Ghazala,
Chairperson of APPJD; and Haji Khokar of Muslim League (N).
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