Free Kashmir
No Indian Army
PAKISTAN – USA FREEDOM FORUM
82-45 243rd Street
Belle Rose, NY 11426
(718) 343-1653 or (718) 763-3543
E-mail: pakusaff@hotmail.com
End Raids and
Deportations
Stop Dividing
Families
Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Hon. Yousaf Raza Gilani
The Pakistani American community is greatly perturbed by the earthquake resulting in loss of life and property in Baluchistan. We are hopeful that the government will utilize all possible resources to alleviate sufferings of affected individuals. Pakistanis living abroad are doing their best to fully participate in this process.
We are very proud that our PM is not a beneficiary of the National Reconciliation Order (NRO) of Dictator General Musharraf. You are an elected Member of the National Assembly (MNA) and had been member of that body many times before. You have nothing to be afraid of “deals”; you must take bold actions to protect interests of Pakistan and its people.
After the election we believed that you will restore confidence of people which was shattered during nine years rule of military dictator Musharraf and his crony Shaukat Aziz. Despite heavy mandate of people you have neither brought them to justice nor tried to bring back their looted money. They must be brought to justice.
During current serious financial crises, no fault of your own, you are earnestly trying to raise funds from abroad. However, due to lack of trust in the current regime, probably due to the presence of so many NRO beneficiaries and cronies of Musharraf, you are having a great difficulty. In the meantime lot of businessmen and foreign investors are withdrawing their money and investing it abroad. The lack of trust has drained national resources to such an extent that the government is begging from IMF to friends but no one is paying a single penny. It is disgrace that a nuclear nation is begging money from friends and foes alike but has failed to put its own house in order. Unabated favors and nonstop foreign trips accompanied by lack of any responsible financial policy and accountability have further deteriorated trust of donors. We urge you to reprioritize your policies to bring discipline to deteriorating economic conditions and flight of assets.
One of the darkest days of Pakistan’s history was November 3, 2007, when dictator Musharraf declared state of emergency, suspended the constitution for the second time and arrested the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry and his fellow sixty judges of the Pakistani Superior Courts. The Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was punished for opposing the sale of Pakistan’s valuable assets (Pakistan Steel mill, etc) to other countries, questioning the dictatorship’s involvement in missing people and shipping them to United States without legal process. The restoration of judiciary should have been the first honorable thing for you, as promised with Nawaz Sharif and then nation, but you have done nothing to resolve this issue. The replacement of Mr. Qayuum with Mr. Khosa and dictator Musharraf with his NRO created Zardari has raised many more questions on your judgment and integrity rather than building poise and trust. In accordance with the wishes of Mohatrama Benazir and the Pakistani people we strongly urge you to restore Mr. Chaudhry as the Chief Justice of Pakistan. We do not accept illegal “Dogar Regime”. This action will tremendously boost the confidence of all Pakistanis to bring back their resources to invest in Pakistan.
As a sovereign nation Pakistan must go to UN to protest violations of its borders by the USA. Your complacency in this regard has created an impression of a deal. Presence of Mr. Durrani as your Security Advisor, Mr. Rehman as an Interior Advisor and Mr. Haqqani as a US Ambassador further strengthens our doubts. Their replacement with patriotic Pakistanis will replace doubts with trust. Also, helping Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and release of missing Pakistanis held against their wishes without charge will foster that trust.
We are very hopeful that your honor will heed to the wishes of people and restore the Chief Justice.
Shahid Comrade
Secretary General (917) 280-0840
Dr. Mohammed Shafique
President (718) 343-1653
On November 3, 2008, dozens of Pakistani-Americans as well as people from progressive organizations in the U.S., such as the May 1 Coalition, International Action Center and Troops Out Now Coalition, came out in front of the Pakistan Consulate in New York, in solidarity with the people and attorneys of Pakistan who demonstrated in cities around the country. U.S. General Petraeus, fresh from his role as commander of U.S. forces that have caused death and destruction in Iraq, and Deputy Secretary of State Boucher arrived in Pakistan to try to convince the Prime Minister to go along with the U.S. government policies of war. However, the people of Pakistan and the U.S. hope that the PM will not allow himself to be intimidated, that he will stand up for Pakistani sovereignty, to that Pakistan will play a role of peace
No comments:
Post a Comment