A Letter to Holbrooke

The chairperson of the Defense of Human Rights, Pakistan Mrs. Amina Masood Janjua has written the following letter to the Ambassador Holbrooke.

 

(The letter is originally published in The News)

Dear ambassador: I am writing to you on behalf of the aggrieved people of Pakistan who have suffered tremendously in the last eight years. They have deep wounds and scars upon their hearts, incurred by their country’s participation in America’s war on terror which has caused many grave human rights violations within Pakistan.

Since 9/11, violation of domestic and international law has been legitimized under the aegis of the US-led war on terror. As a consequence of this, even within Pakistan many people have been picked up and detained in secret detention camps and torture cells run by the intelligence agencies. These illegal detention facilities were monitored, controlled and financed by elements that are part of the US government. It is my humble appeal to you to take interest in this matter so that the fate of our loved ones who are rotting in these cells for years without end may change for the better.

Sir, Muslims also believe in the teachings of Prophet Moses just like you. Moses (PBUH) was a messenger of God for all of humanity. The phrase “Thou shall not kill” is well-known throughout the world as one of the Ten Commandments, which all Jewish people are required to believe in. Originating in the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, this phrase was originally given to Moses and the Israelite people by God as one of the great commandments and is found in the holy scriptures of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Seen as an admonition against murder, the sixth commandment is the foundation for the prohibition against suicide, capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia, war, and any other situation where one person might be inclined to take the life of another. Our religion, Islam is a peaceful non-violent religion, which builds on the teachings of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Noah, David, Solomon and others. The Holy Quran specifically states: “Whoever killed a human being should be looked upon as though he had killed all mankind. (5:32)”

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) avoided war at all costs and even helped create a 10-year peace treaty between the Muslims and non-Muslims, which was drafted and signed at Al Hudaibiya. While the treaty was being drafted, the people of Makkah indulged in a number of provocative acts. For instance, they set down a condition that if they could lay their hands on any Muslim they would make him a hostage, but if the Muslims succeeded in detaining any non-Muslim, they would have to set him free. The Prophet (PBUH) agreed to even this point. For the restoration of peace in the region, the Prophet accepted a number of such unjustifiable clauses as were added by the other side. In this way he set the example of peace and tolerance being linked with one another. If we desire peace, we must tolerate many unpleasant things from others. There is no other way to establish peace in society.

Ambassador Holbrooke, you are a seasoned diplomat and America’s special envoy for our region. Therefore it is necessary to convey to you the aspiration and expectations of the people of Pakistan. We love our country as much as Americans love their country. Respect for human rights and rule of law is as important for us as for Americans. We appreciate the three commendable orders that the new President Barack Obama has passed soon after taking oath of office. We urge you and your government to take the lead in also closing down these CIA/ISI detention camps within Pakistan. This will be extremely helpful in building a positive image of US in Pakistan as well as in gaining the trust and confidence of the citizens of both America and Pakistan.

The families, like myself, of the thousands of those who had disappeared will be intently looking towards the new US administration and towards your actions in this regard. I hope and pray that my husband will also be released from his incarceration of nearly four years – detention during which he has not been charged for any crime and his family has not been allowed any contact with him.

I will keep praying for the establishment of true brotherly relations between America and Pakistan. May God bless you and guide you.

 

 

US will act on ‘actionable targets’ in FATA: Biden

* Vice president says US working to build Pakistan’s capability to counter insurgency
* FATA had been ‘ungovernable’ for Pakistan

WASHINGTON: Hinting that the United States drone attacks in the Tribal Areas would continue as before, US Vice President Joe Biden said the US would act if there was an ‘actionable target’ in sight.

He said the US was working towards strengthening Pakistan’s counterinsurgency capability, but declined to specifically address the issue of drone strikes against suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda targets on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border.

“I cannot speak to any particular attack. I cannot speak to any particular action. It is not appropriate for me to do that,” he said in response to a question in the backdrop of Friday’s drone strikes on North and South Waziristan, which killed 18 people.

Working: “What we are doing is we are in the process of working with the Pakistanis to help train up the counterinsurgency capability of their military, and we’re getting new agreements with them about how to deal with cross-border movements of these folks, so we are making progress,” Biden said.

Referring to US President Barack Obama’s election campaigning, Biden said the president had “said during his campaign and in the debates that if there is an actionable target, of a high-level Al Qaeda personnel, that he would not hesitate to use action to deal with that”.

He, however, praised increased cooperation by Pakistani authorities, calling the coordination ‘good news’.

“The good news is that in my last trip – and I have been to Pakistan and that region many times – there is a great deal more cooperation going on now between the Pakistan military in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Waziristan, North Waziristan – all that area that we hear about being ungovernable,” he said.

FATA: But Biden added that the areas had “been ungovernable for the Pakistani government. That’s where the bad guys are hiding. That’s where the Al Qaeda folks are, and some other malcontents”.

Biden also expressed understanding of the fact that FATA had been historically ungoverned.

According to a Pakistani embassy spokesman, agreement of views on coordination of border monitoring, improvement in intelligence-sharing and bolstering the capacity of Pakistani security forces was a continuous process between the coalition partners.

A senior official in Islamabad on Sunday said the drone attacks were counterproductive to Pakistan’s efforts aimed at curbing extremism.

On Afghanistan, Biden said the new US administration had inherited a ‘real mess’. “What’s happened is that because of a failure to provide sufficient resources, economic, political and military, as well as failure to get a coherent policy among our allies, economically and politically, and in terms of military resources, the situation has deteriorated a great deal,” he said.app

Credits: Daily Times