Pakistan holding thousands in indefinite detention, officials say

[laststeamtrain]

Source: WP

Pakistan holding thousands in indefinite detention, officials say

By Griff Witte and Karen DeYoung
Thursday, April 22, 2010; A01

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN -- The Pakistani military is holding thousands of suspected militants in indefinite detention, arguing that the nation's dysfunctional civilian justice system cannot be trusted to prevent them from walking free, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials.

The majority of the detainees have been held for nearly a year and have been allowed no contact with family members, lawyers or humanitarian groups, the Pakistani officials and human rights advocates said.

Top U.S. officials have raised concern about the detentions with Pakistani leaders, fearing that the issue could undermine American domestic and congressional support for the U.S.-backed counterinsurgency campaign in Pakistan and jeopardize billions of dollars in U.S. assistance.

Pakistani officials say that they are aware of the problem but that there is no clear solution: Pakistan has no applicable military justice system, and even civilian officials concede that their courts are not up to the task of handling such a large volume of complex terrorism cases. There is little forensic evidence in most cases, and witnesses are likely to be too scared to testify.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/21/AR2010042102658_pf.html

[ixion]

1. And since the US does, too

we abrogate any moral authority to tell Pakistan not to.

Such is the paradox of the Bush-Obama doctrine of Endless War.

[pundaint]

2. So bringing American Democracy to Pakistan is now complete. Can we end the wars now?

[pundaint]

3. deleted duplicate sub