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Unconditional aid is legitimization of the authoritarian military rule in
Pakistan
LONDON, 28 September 2005 : The aid that Pakistan receives from the USA and the European Union strengthens the country's authoritarian military government. The USA and EU are therefore legitimising laws and policies that promote religious intolerance and extremism at the peril of democracy and the rights of minority provinces. This was the consensus view at the 17th International Conference of the World Sindhi Congress (WSC), a human rights advocacy group for Sindh and Sindhis, held in London on 24 September 2005. Several distinguished scholars and activists from Sindh, Balochistan, Geneva, India, the USA and UK gathered to present speeches on the theme of `International Aid to Pakistan: Issues of Human Rights, Equitable Development and Peace in Sindh.' The Conference was very well attended by Sindhis, Balouchs and people of other nationalities from Sindh, Spain, America and of course the UK. UK attendees came not only from London, but also from cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Preston, Rochdale, Reading and many others attendees filled the conference hall to capacity. The proceedings started with an introduction by Dr. Hidayat Bhutto, who also read messages and apologies from prominent American and British politicians. US Senator George Allen of Virginia sent a message of support to WSC and wrote, 'I value the work you are doing for the Sindhi people of Pakistan. It is my hope that through your efforts, Sindhis will gain the recognition that they so greatly desire.' US Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York praised WSC in his letter and wrote, `I support your organization's pursuit of democracy under your advocacy and action banner, and I also support your fight against fundamentalism and fundamentalist ideologies in your struggle for the rule of law and human rights in Pakistan.' Roger Godsiff, an MP from the UK, also wrote and agreed that Sindhis should be heard. Many other UK MPs and Secretaries of State sent their best wishes and apologies for being unable to attend. The introduction was followed by the Secretary General's report, delivered by Dr. Lakhu Lohano. He summarised the role of WSC and its activities over the course of the past year. He said that 2004-05 has been a very hectic year for WSC. Apart from the AGM/Conference and Saeen G. M. Sayed's birthday, WSC organised three demonstrations highlighting the plights of Sindh, Balouchistan, women and religious minorities. Through leaflets and speeches, WSC focused on issues such as water access, unjustified resource distribution in Pakistan, military action in Balouchistan, Gwadar Port, Dr. Shazia Khalid, the political murder of Shaheed Samiullah Kalhoro and the plight of other Sindhi and Balouch activists in prisons. The speeches and other business of the day were conducted in two sessions. The first session was moderated by Dr. Haleem Bhatti, Senior Vice Chairman of WSC. The speakers in this session were Vishu Bhatia, Ali Rind, Dr. Saghir A. Shaikh, Dr. Ahmed Hussain Makhdoom, Kadir Bux Jatoi and Ms. Claire Galez. The session started with a well-received poem recited by a UK Sindhi. In this poem Vishu lamented the plight of Sindh and wondered whether Sindhis were taking care of the motherland they had to leave. Ali Ahmed Rind, editor of the Sindhi news magazine Affair, said that Sindh has no say in Pakistan at federal or provincial levels. WSC Chairman Dr. Shagir Shaikh delivered a detailed paper on issues of human rights and the role donor countries. `In order to ensure long-lasting peace and justice in the region and to reduce the menace of terrorism, global powers must act to neutralise Pakistan and its proliferating nuclear capability,' Dr. Shaikh said. He concluded that it may actually be counter-productive to act as an ally to Pakistani President Musharraf in the coalition against terrorism. In his paper entitled 'SOS' (Save Our Sindh), Sindhi intellectual Dr. Ahmed Makhdoom discussed general deprivation in Sindh and concluded that we ourselves must fight for the restoration of our rights. Mr. Qadir Bux Jatoi of WSI London said that Pakistan was created for the military in order to serve the interests of imperialism. Ms. Claire Galez, director of the South Asian Research Center, Geneva, highlighted the inherent clash between economic liberalism and prosperity under the Pakistani military regime and said, 'The liberalisation of economic markets has posed a positive impact globally, but in the case of Pakistan, it has ironically posed a reverse, negative impact on human welfare.' The second session was conducted after a sumptuous lunch and was moderated by Suraiya Makhdoom, a founding member WSC and currently its UK/Europe Organiser. The session had a heavy agenda, as there were speeches, resolutions and a question and answer session. The session started with the announcement of the G. M. Sayed Award, which is awarded annually at the WSC conference to people who have served the Sindhi cause. The awards programme was conducted by Shahzado Wadhio of Sheffield. The Lifetime Award was given to Comrade Sobho Gianchandani. His award was received by Dr. Banu Chaudhury, a close associate of the Comrade. Earlier in the year, Comrade Sobho was nominated by Suraiya Makhdoom and supported by Dr. Haleem Bhatti, Dr. Lakhu Luhana, Farhan Soomro and Dr. Hidayatullah Bhutto. The Advocacy Award was given to Azad Kazi, and his award was received by Ali Rind, as he could not come himself. The award ceremony was followed by a speech session. Suraiya opened the session by reciting verses from Shah Abdul Latif, Ayaz and other poets. He occasionally offered authentic translations of the verses, as well. The first speaker was distinguished Sindhi social worker and literary figure Mr. Abdul Ghafoor Alasti, who spoke about the Sufi traditions of Sindhi people. Dr. Naseer Dashti, a Balouch intellectual and journalist, said that Balouchistan was conquered and is now being ruled by force. Dr. Banu Chaudhury of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, UK chapter, touched upon some key issues including education and revealed that in current Pakistani curriculum, children are taught bigotry and intolerance right from the beginning. Sudhamo Lal Ahuja, a renowned socio-political worker from Sindh, focused on the plight of religious minorities and women in Pakistan. He asserted his allegiance to Sindh and insisted that Sindhi Hindus are not a religious minority, but rather the indigenous residents of the land. Praising the peace-loving and Sufi beliefs of Sindhi culture, Dr. Charles Graves, director of the Geneva-based NGO Interfaith International, said, `Religion must be separated from state in Pakistan, and the Sindhi people's Sufism must prevail over forces of bigotry to save the global community from the emerging threat of religious intolerance sponsored by State elites.' Akash Ansari, a well-known Sindhi poet, spoke about the element of resistance in Sindhi poetry. He also read several of his poems. He was quite popular with the audience, who rolled their cameras when he took the floor and asked for more poems. Finally, Dr. Saghir Shaikh thanked the audience and concluded the speech segment of the session. He started in English but then reverted to Sindhi and quoted heavily from Sindhi poetry. He stated that he has a dream to achieve the objectives of WSC for which he has committed himself. His remarks were very well received. The conference passed 27 resolutions concerning human rights and distributive economic and political justice in Pakistan. Mr. Umed Laghari, Organiser, WSC USA chapter, presented the resolutions. There were some amendments from the audience and some fresh resolutions were tabled. Then followed the Ajrak presentation ceremony in which WSC officers and supporters presented Ajraks to the speakers. In the evening there was a musical programme, which was moderated by Mss. Hafeezan Wadhio of Sheffield. Her beautiful recitations of Sindhi verses added to the richness of the programme. The principal artist was the famous Sindhi singer Ms. Kajal Chandiramani. Mr. Saeen Bux Patujo and Mr. Awais Mahar also captured the audience's attention. Dr. Anwar Balouch played a famous Sindhi musical instrument, the `Gharo,' with the singers. About WSC: The World Sindhi Congress (WSC) is one of the most prominent human rights advocacy organisations for Sindh and Sindhis. The main objective of WSC is to create a better understanding among the international community about the persecuted status of Sindhis in Pakistan and about the Sindhi people's struggles for their human rights, including the right to self-determination. WSC is a registered company in England. Wales and California, USA, organised to carry out non-profit activities only. Every year WSC organises an international conference on important issues during its Annual General Body Meeting. WSC invites various political leaders, human rights activists, journalists, and academics belonging to various parts of the world to these meetings. Important resolutions are presented and passed by delegates at these annual meetings. A summary of the proceedings of these conferences is published in WSC newsletters as well as on the Internet and in various local and international newspapers and magazines. |