Pakistani-American Groups Call on Chinese Consulate in New York

Members of the Pakistani-American community display placards at the Chinese Consulate in New York

New York: A joint group of Pakistani-American attorneys and representatives of Pakistani-American civil society organizations met with the officials of the Chinese Consulate General in New York and expressed their deep concerns over the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan‘s visit to the Musharraf-appointed Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Abdul Hameed Dogar. 
The event was initiated and organized by two organizations, the Pakistani American Attorneys for Constitutional Supremacy (PAACS) and the Movement for Justice. Their efforts were further endorsed and fully supported by a host of Pakistani-American civil society organizations and members of the Pakistani diaspora in the US.
The joint delegation was led by a New York-based Pakistan-American attorney, Saleem Rizvi , and accompanied by  attorney Sajad Jaffery, Attorney Khalid Azam,  Attornry Sheikh Lutaf Ullah and Liaquat Chaudhry Advacate who represented Pakistani- American Attorneys for Constitutional Supremacy, while Tariq Khan represented the Movement for Justice, and was accompanied by Dabbir Trimzi, Sheikh Elahi, Iftikhar Turab, Jawad Khan and others, who were instrumental in reaching out to the community on this issue..
Attorney Saleem Rizvi acknowledged the support of Ali Zaidi, International Coordinator of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, who not only endorsed the letter, but also helped in securing certain additional endorsements. Through a telephonic message to Saleem Rizvi,  Ali Zaidi assured that the PTI fully supports the legal community in its struggle for the reinstatement of the deposed judiciary.
At the meeting in the Chinese consulate, Attorney Saleem Rizvi hand-delivered a detailed letter, addressed to the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Mr. Lou Zhaohui. The delegation said that they view this visit by the Chinese Ambassador as a gesture of approval of what Musharraf  has done to the judiciary in Pakistan. Both in the meeting and in the letter it is expressed that the legal community finds this visit highly troubling, especially in view of a long history of their unwavering friendship with the people of China. Their friendship is legendary, and so is their struggle against injustice, inequality and their fight for the uplifting of ordinary people. Therefore, the people of Pakistan and Pakistanis around the world do not understand the meaning and timing of this untimely so-called "visit of goodwill". 
 However, what they clearly understand is that this visit has the potential for damaging the perception of the government of China in the minds of the millions who are fighting for a constitutional and democratic system in Pakistan. The delegation emphasized that it is crucial to note that the current chief justice did not take oath under the Constitution of Pakistan to defend and preserve it.  Rather, he took the loyalty oath under an illegal Order called “PCO” issued by the then army chief, General Musharraf.  The delegation asserted that they still consider Iftikhar Chaudhry to be the true and legitimate Chief Justice of Pakistan.

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