“Pakistan: With Terrorists in Government and the U.S. in Denial, where do we go from here?”
 

Washington , DC: The World Sindhi Institute (WSI) is organizing a Discussion Forum on the ongoing crisis of governance in Pakistan which reached new heights with the government “enabled” violence and massacre in Karachi on 12th May 2007.

Since the last almost 3 months, there has been growing civilian unrest when President General Parvez Musharaff decided to remove one of his main political opponents, Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry from office. On 12th May the streets of Karachi , Pakistan exploded in violence, between anti-government and pro-government supporters in reaction to General Musharraf’s decision to physically prevent the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from reaching and addressing the Karachi High Court Bar Association. As a result of the violence, over 40 people were killed in what the BBC reports as, “some of the worst political violence in years”. According to the BBC, the police were instructed to stand unarmed and idle as the violence took place.

All evidence points towards one political party being responsible for the massacre; a party that was spawned by the military dictatorship of General Ziaul Haq. Pakistani establishment’s patronage of terrorist militant groups extends back in time to 1947, when the secret militant wing of the Muslim League organized pogroms against Hindus in Pakistan . During the last six decades of Pakistan ’s existence, the ISI (inter services intelligence) and other agencies of the Pakistani establishment have patronized more than one political group to create terror at crucial times.

The notorious M.Q.M. party, the acronym that has inspired fear in the hearts and minds of Sindh’s urban residents for three decades, originally stood for Muhajir Qaumi Mahaz (literally meaning a National Front of immigrants referring to the Urdu speaking immigrant community that is not indigenous to Pakistan). After gaining some parliamentary presence the group re-invented itself by adopting a changed name with the same acronym: the “Mohajir”was dropped in favor of “Muttahida” (meaning united) in an attempt to take away its specific ethnic color, even though its support and patronage comes from the very same ethnic community who even today comprise only 7% of the country’s 160 million people. Not so coincidentally, the President of Pakistan, General Pervaiz Musharraf and Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz, both belong to this same ethnic group of Urdu speaking immigrants, whilst the party is led and directed by Altaf Husain, a British citizen and resident of London , U.K.

As the lawyers’ movement gained momentum, the (quasi) military government of Pervaiz Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz unleashed their partners in government, the MQM, to spread terror in Karachi in order to create conditions for the imposition of further military control of Pakistan ’s civilian population…….

Interested in learning more? Join us for a discussion on these events from all different perspectives and voice your own opinion too:
 

Discussion Forum

Hosted by the World Sindhi Institute

National Press Club: Zenger Room
529 14th St. NW 13th Floor
Washington DC 20045
Friday, June 8th, 6-8pm


Expected Speakers:

Dr. Manzoor Aijaz

Writer, Economist, Journalist ‘Daily Times’

Mr. Iqbal Tareen

Human Rights Activist

Mr. Zahid Makhdoom

President, WSI

Mr. Haider Nizamani

University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada

(Speaker & Moderator)

Ms. Nafisa Hoodbhoy

Voice of America

Q & A will follow

(Light refreshments will be served)
 

Sindhis of Sindh, in southeastern Pakistan.