Asia Society
Amina Khan Esq. Remarks
Coalition of Concerned Citizens held a very
successful day on the Hill - Dec 6th
Washington, DC
- December 5th, 2007 -
An impressive number of Members
of U.S. Congress and a Senator
addressed a large gathering of
Concerned Citizens to show their
support for the restoration of
pre-November 3 independent
Pakistani Judiciary. In
addition to the U.S. lawmakers,
the representatives of Amnesty
International, and International
Crisis Group also spoke to a
huge gathering. The large
audience of Concerned Citizens
included professionals, lawyers,
physicians, and businessmen.
In her speech, Senator Claire
Mccaskell from Missouri showed
strong desire to restore the
Pakistani judiciary. Senator
Mccaskell showed her desire to
make the U.S. Military aid to
Pakistan contingent to "the rule
of law." She strongly advised
the Musharraf Government to
restore the judiciary, or face
the military sanctions. The
Senator warned, "If the
judiciary is not restored,
Pakistan should face the threat
of military sanctions."
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren from
the California accused the
Musharraf Government of misusing
the American Military Aid
against his political
opponents. She explained, "Pervez
Musharraf's government is using
America's military aid against
political opponents rather than
terrorists." She criticized the
Musharraf Government for the
abusive treatment of attorneys.
She called, "The treatment of
attorneys, such as Munir Malik,
is outrageous."
In his address, Congressman
Steven Israel from New York
blasted President Musharraf and
the U.S. policy of supporting
him. The Congressman equated
the current Pakistani situation
with the Nazi Germany. He said,
"The current situation reminds
me of Nazi Germany, when then
the judges took an oath before
Hitler rather than the law." He
was quite clear about the
principles under which an
independent judiciary should
work under when he said, "Judges
should be bound to the law, not
to the desire of one man." He
further criticized the American
foreign policy of supporting
one-man rule of President
Musharraf. According to him,
"United States has made a
mistake by supporting one man.
We should support the people."
Dr. Zaffar Iqbal
speaking on the occasion said,
""We strongly support the
proposal by Senator Biden" "The
aid should encourage democracy,
not despotic rule." said Dr
Iqbal.
Amina Khan, Pakistani-American
lawyer talked about images of
Pakistani's fighting for the
rule of law and free press. She
said, " Democratic ideals are
indigenous to the people of
Pakistan. After all, this was a
nation founded upon the ideals
of democracy by a lawyer,
Mohammed Ali Jinnah. "
Other speakers included, T.
Kumar, Advocacy Director of the
Amnesty International and
Jennifer Leonard, Washington
Advocacy Director at
International Crisis Group and
Shamaya. Gilo representing
Pluralism Fund . Mr. Kumar and
Ms. Gilo complimented the
Pakistani-American Coalition for
their successful program, and
predicted that such activism
will contribute towards the
cause of democracy and human
rights in Pakistan.
Following is a list of some of
the most distinguished guests
who attended the program:
Members of Congress who
attended, addressed and
supported the restoration of
Judiciary in Pakistan:
1. Senator Claire Mccaskell
(D-MO)
2. Congressman Harry E Mitchell
(D-AZ)
3. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren
(D-CA)
4. Congressman Bill Delahunt
(D-MA)
5. Congressman Steve J Israel
(D-NY)
6. Congresswoman Nita Lowey
(D-NY)
7.
Congressman Trent Franks
(R-AZ)
8 Congressman Nick Joe
Rahall (D-WV)
Representative of the
following Congressional
Members were present in the
program:
Congressman John Tierney
(D-MA)
Congressman Henry Waxman
(D-CA)
Congressman Shiela Jackson
Lee (D-TX)
Congressman John P Sarbanes
(D-MA)
Congressman Keith Ellison
(D-MN)
Congressman Rahm Emanuel
(D-IL)
Wife of Senator Patrick
Leahy (D-VT) attended
the program
Media Contacts:
Dr. Zaffar
Iqbal - (928) 550-0062
Dr. Nasir
Gondal - (917) 860-0808
Amina Khan
Esq. - (202) 415-4566
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