Hundreds of Pakistanis have been picked up by the country's intelligence agencies on suspicion of terrorist activity and detained without charge or trial and without access to family and lawyers. Many languish in secret detention centers in Pakistan as part of ongoing campaigns.
pakistan's civilian government remains weak and unwilling to hold its Army-controlled intelligence agencies accountable for their involvement in the enforced disappearance of Pakistani citizens especially Baluchi and Sindhi nationalists accused of involvement in persistent freedom struggle movements, many of whom are later found dead, bearing signs of torture.
Due to non-cooperation from military and intelligence officials, hundreds remain missing and disappearances continue unabated. While no official statistics exist on the exact number missing, human rights groups and media reports indicate the number runs into the thousands from all four provinces, with a large majority picked up from Balochistan.
In January 2011, in a report submitted to the government clearly laid-out the role of Pakistan's intelligence agencies in the enforced disappearances of citizens. Three months later, nothing has been done to hold these all-powerful agencies accountable.
U.S. government spent less than $65 million on strengthening civilian law-enforcement capacity to combat terrorism in Pakistan. In contrast, $700 million was allocated to the Pakistani military in 2010 alone to bolster its counter-insurgency capacity, which has relied considerably on aerial bombing campaigns, arbitrary detentions and extra-judicial killings, as alleged in a Human Rights Watch report last year, which accused the army of murdering 238 suspected militants in Swat since 2009.
The U.S. government's continued support of the Pakistani military is in violation of the Leahy amendment, which prohibits Congress from authorizing funds to foreign militaries that violate international humanitarian laws. It is time for U.S. legislators, human rights activists and media outlets to question their government's support of the Pakistani military.
This is a critical moment to redirect U.S. relations with the Pakistani public. U.S. assistance in resolving the missing persons issue will do just that, as well as build Pakistan's capacity to combat extremism and build a more durable civilian infrastructure over the long term.
pakistan's civilian government remains weak and unwilling to hold its Army-controlled intelligence agencies accountable for their involvement in the enforced disappearance of Pakistani citizens especially Baluchi and Sindhi nationalists accused of involvement in persistent freedom struggle movements, many of whom are later found dead, bearing signs of torture.
Due to non-cooperation from military and intelligence officials, hundreds remain missing and disappearances continue unabated. While no official statistics exist on the exact number missing, human rights groups and media reports indicate the number runs into the thousands from all four provinces, with a large majority picked up from Balochistan.
In January 2011, in a report submitted to the government clearly laid-out the role of Pakistan's intelligence agencies in the enforced disappearances of citizens. Three months later, nothing has been done to hold these all-powerful agencies accountable.
U.S. government spent less than $65 million on strengthening civilian law-enforcement capacity to combat terrorism in Pakistan. In contrast, $700 million was allocated to the Pakistani military in 2010 alone to bolster its counter-insurgency capacity, which has relied considerably on aerial bombing campaigns, arbitrary detentions and extra-judicial killings, as alleged in a Human Rights Watch report last year, which accused the army of murdering 238 suspected militants in Swat since 2009.
The U.S. government's continued support of the Pakistani military is in violation of the Leahy amendment, which prohibits Congress from authorizing funds to foreign militaries that violate international humanitarian laws. It is time for U.S. legislators, human rights activists and media outlets to question their government's support of the Pakistani military.
This is a critical moment to redirect U.S. relations with the Pakistani public. U.S. assistance in resolving the missing persons issue will do just that, as well as build Pakistan's capacity to combat extremism and build a more durable civilian infrastructure over the long term.
