Campaign for Pakistani missing persons

A campaign on behalf of more than 530 known missing persons in Pakistan was announced March 17 in Brooklyn, N.Y., at a press conference organized by the Pakistan-U.S. Freedom Forum. Attorney Omer Khwaja, executive director of the Campaign to Restore Democracy to Pakistan, described the efforts of many in Pakistan to locate relatives missing since Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s crackdown last year on the democracy movement. “We cannot leave these courageous families rudderless as the Pakistani politicians who won last month’s elections waffle over when, how, and in what form to restore democratic values to Pakistan,” said Khwaja. “Our campaign has taken the first step towards our goal to hold high-ranking officials accountable for the horrors that have occurred under their watch.”

After the press conference, author and historian Tariq Ali spoke to a gathering of close to 100 in the same hall about the collaboration between the CIA and a long string of military dictatorships in Pakistan. He stressed the need for land reform as well as civilian democratic rule.

From right to left in photo are Sara Flounders of the International Action Center, Omer Khwaja, progressive attorney Lynne Stewart and Comrade Shahid of the Pakistan-U.S.A. Freedom Forum.

—Report & photo by Deirdre Griswold