Pakistan-Americans Ask
SC to Take Suo Moto Action
Washington,
DC: The Pakistan American National Alliance (PANA), a US-wide
coalition of Pakistani-American organizations, has condemned
the Musharraf regime “in strongest words” and
demanded judicial inquiry of May 12 Karachi massacre by
a commission comprised of the judges of the Supreme Court
of Pakistan.
In a letter sent to the Acting Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of Pakistan, PANA has urged the Supreme Court of Pakistan
to conduct a suo moto inquiry of the May 12 mayhem, killings
and destruction in Karachi.
“If the writ of the state was made to fail by design
then the government is a co-conspirator in these murders,
if it happened despite its best efforts then it is guilty
of enormous incompetence, and if came about due to lack
of preparation then it is a case of criminal negligence”,
PANA Coordinator, Dr. Muhammad Ashraf Toor said. “The
present government must be held accountable for the loss
of so many precious lives.”
The PANA statement in part reads:
We, Pakistani-Americans join our Pakistani brothers and
sister in mourning the loss of so many precious lives on
May 12. We request Honorable Justice Rana Bhagwandas, the
acting Chief Justice of Pakistan, to use his suo moto powers
and set up a commission of inquiry as soon as possible so
that the criminals are not able to cover their tracks and
the guilty are punished in accordance with the law.
The editors of the daily Dawn have correctly observed,
“The crimes committed that day are too horrendous
to be ignored. The nation has the right to know why the
police and the fabled paramilitary Rangers disappeared,
who barricaded key traffic junctions and was manning some
of the roadblocks with weapons in hand, what party or organizations
the killers belonged to, and whether the Sindh government
did all that it did on Saturday on instructions from Islamabad
to frustrate Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s programme
in Karachi.”
This Commission should be given broad powers to subpoena
any federal or provincial official including the President
and the Prime Minister, summon the records of federal and
provincial law enforcement agencies, punish the guilty,
and compensate the victims and their families. It should
also look into the use of direct and indirect threats and
abuse of administrative powers by the federal government
before, during and after the May 12 massacre.
Ever since Pakistan Supreme Court's decision on May 8 to
stay Supreme Judicial Council’s proceedings, key officials
including Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have been threatening
to impose emergency rules and suspend all basic rights.
This PANA Statement in jointly issued by the following organizations:
Coalition of Pakistani Organizations of Chicago (COPOC)
Indus Society (IS)
Pakistan American Council of Texas (PACT)
Pakistan American Democratic Forum (PADF)
Pakistan Association of Riverside (PAR)
Pakistan Cultural Association of New Orleans (PCANO)
Pakistan League of America (PLA)
Pakistani-American Democratic Dialogue (PADD)
Pakistan-USA Freedom Forum (PUFF)
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