Pakistanis denounce Zardari & Pentagon offensive

Inside the Roosevelt Hotel in busy midtown Manhattan on May 10, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was trying to reassure some 300 members of the expatriate community that his just-completed visit to Washington was not a capitulation to U.S. pressure.

May 10 protest, NYC. WW photo: John Catalinotto

But outside, a vigorous demonstration denounced the bloody government offensive in the Swat Valley that has caused more than half a million Pakistanis to flee their homes. In speeches and chants, delivered in Pashtun and other Pakistani languages as well as in English, the crowd of Pakistanis and their U.S. supporters assailed the brutal bombings by the Pakistan Air Force, pointing out that every bomb and bullet was supplied by the Pentagon.

When the meeting in the hotel ended, a group of more formally dressed Pakistanis emerged who had been inside. They were furious at Zardari for “begging” for U.S. money and for walking out of the meeting before they could address him with their questions and comments. A dozen joined the demonstration and denounced the Pakistani president to the crowd and the media cameras.

In Washington on May 7, Zardari had pledged at a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. Sens. John Kerry and Richard Lugar that Pakistan would continue the offensive until it had defeated the “terrorists.”

He was using language created in Washington to describe Islamic forces opposed to the U.S. occupation of neighboring Afghanistan. To the people living in the border areas, however, the terrorists are those who send Predator and Raptor drones to launch Hellfire missiles into their homes and villages. For over a year, these pilotless planes sent by the Pentagon have rained down death and suffering on villagers in northwest Pakistan. The generals and the Western media then claim another victory against “terrorism.”

The anguish this has caused was apparent on the faces of the diverse group of Pakistanis. They came from various ethnic groups and expressed different political and religious views, but all called for an end to foreign interference in their country and a cessation of the military offensive.

A sizeable solidarity delegation from the International Action Center and Workers World Party came in support of the demonstration. Speakers emphasized that U.S. imperialism has been behind a long string of military dictatorships in Pakistan that have left the country divided between a highly privileged few versus an impoverished population.

They also addressed passersby on the street, pointing out how the billions of dollars spent to make Pakistan an ally of the Pentagon contribute to the growing impoverishment of the people here at home.

The demonstration was called by the Pakistan-U.S. Freedom Forum, which has been tireless in organizing the community against repression in their home country.