Pakistan Accused of Disappearing Terrorism Suspects

[Hissyspit]

Source: McClatchy

Pakistan accused of disappearing terrorism suspects
By Saeed Shah, McClatchy Newspapers
1 hour, 10 minutes ago

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan's intelligence agencies and police have disappeared hundreds of Pakistanis, including children as young as 9, as part of the U.S.-led war on terrorism, Amnesty International charged Wednesday. The missing Pakistanis frequently were tortured and have been moved among secret detention centers regularly so that they become impossible to trace, the human rights group said.

Amnesty said that allied countries, primarily the United States , had "benefited from this activity," which began under the regime of President Pervez Musharraf . Some citizens were handed over to foreign intelligence agents for questioning in Pakistan or abroad, it said.

The human rights group was highly critical of Pakistan's newly elected government for not taking firm steps to recover the apparent terrorism suspects, some of whom have been missing for up to seven years and never been charged. Amnesty didn't give a number of those missing but backed the claims of relatives groups' that at least 563 people remain unaccounted for. Amina Janjua , who leads one relatives' group, told McClatchy that hundreds more haven't been brought to the attention of human rights activists. She said that new cases were still coming to her, more three months after the new government took power.

Amnesty said that many of the missing were involved in nationalist movements from the smaller provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh, and it charged that the Musharraf regime had exploited the anti-terrorism agenda to crack down on political opponents. It called for the government to compile lists of missing people and to shift detainees into official prisons and process them through the courts. "This is an easy and achievable step forward that would signal a very strong break with the policies of the government of General Musharraf," said Sam Zarifi , the Asia Pacific director at Amnesty.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080723/wl_mcclatchy/2998034

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[Frisbee]

2. All with our Government's blessing I'd wager... n/t

[niceypoo]

3. Unless their name is Osama Bin Laden

in which case they are given protection

[LynnTheDem]

4. The US's bush regime do it, why shouldn't Pakistan do it?

After all, the USA is the world leader.

[maddezmom]

5. Pakistan government pressed on missing persons

Pakistan government pressed on missing persons By STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - An international rights group pressed Pakistan's new government on Wednesday to quickly investigate the disappearance of hundreds of people allegedly rounded up by security agencies as part of the anti-terror campaign.

President Pervez Musharraf purged the Supreme Court last year after it began questioning Pakistani security services about the cases. Musharraf said judges were obstructing counterterrorism efforts.

But the former army chief has lost influence since opponents won February parliamentary elections and formed a government that insists it is committed to improving the country's human rights record.

In a new report released Wednesday, Amnesty International urged the government to immediately reveal the whereabouts of the people who have been reported missing and bring some relief to their families.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080723/ap_on_re_mi_ea/pakistan_missing_persons;_ylt=AowNmZJ5FRy5MnSrnuYBz2ILewgF