Benazir calls for release of activists

The lawyers' movement cannot be crushed by arresting hundreds of political activists and ordinary citizens, said a statement released here on Friday quoting PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto as saying.
She was reacting on behalf of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on reports that hundreds were arrested to prevent people from welcoming the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who is scheduled to visit Faisalabad on Saturday.
The PPP believes that an independent judiciary is key to functioning of a political system that protects the rights of the underprivileged and downtrodden, she said and asked the Party workers and others arrested by the regime to keep their morale high.
She called upon the Peoples Lawyers Forum and the district organisations to visit those imprisoned. She also asked the women wing of the party to visit the families of those arrested.
Bhutto asked the Provincial organisation of the Punjab headed by the President Shah Mahmood Qureshi to make sure that the district organisations, the PLF and the Women wing were performing the tasks she had directed them to fulfil on behalf of the Party in relation to those imprisoned.
According to the report of the Asian Human Rights Commission, a regional non governmental monitory of human rights in Asia, about 400 people were arrested in Lahore, the capital of the Punjab province, 300 people on June 11, from Toba Tek Singh, Jhang and Faisalabad, 100 from Mutan city, 55 from Bahawalpur, more than 100 from Rawalpindi city and over 100 activists from Sahiwal, Okara and Jaranwala during the space of a week.
Among the arrested persons were some leaders of different political parties including the PPP, PML-N, MMA and the Labour Party. Ms Bhutto said that the Lahore High Court on June 12, 2007, declared the detention of six political activists from Multan city as illegal but the anti people provincial leadership had committed contempt of court by refusing to implement the orders of the court.
She said it was a favourite tactic to add a new charge after an old charge was dismissed and the judiciary should not allow such excesses. She requested the Lahore High Court to take suo motu notice and initiate contempt proceedings against the Punjab government.
"The PPP believes that Awami (People) power can bring down the regime just like the Awami power in Ukraine through the Orange Revolution that brought down the dictatorship in Ukraine", she added. Ms Bhutto noted that the regime was making one mistake after another by attacking political parties, the press, the judiciary and civil groups.
She called upon the regime to immediately release all those imprisoned as part of the actions against the Chief Justice's reception ceremonies. She also called upon the regime to provide security to the Chief Justice during his visit to Faisalabad.
PPP slams murder of activist in jail Pakistan Peoples Party has condemned the murder of party activist Sarmad Mansoor due to torture in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore and demanded registration of criminal case against perpetrators of the crime and their arrest and prosecution.
Sarmad Mansoor Finance Secretary of PPP Gujrat district died in Kot Lakhpat Jail on Thursday after he was refused medical treatment by the authorities. Mansoor was detained by the police last week during raids in the province against opposition activists ahead of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry's forthcoming visit to Faisalabad on Saturday (Today.
A heart patient, Mansoor was initially admitted to a local hospital in Gujrat but was shifted to Kot Lakhpat Jail under the detention orders against advice of the doctors and pleas by his family members in view of his poor health and a heart condition.
The Jail superintendent in Kot Lakhpat also refused to move Mansoor to a private hospital for treatment. In a statement on Friday spokesperson of the Party former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that by refusing to shift him to a hospital the administration actually tortured him resulting in his death and amounted to deliberate murder.
He said that the Party would initiate legal action against those responsible for the torture and murder of Sarmad Mansoor. "The tormentors of Mansoor must be punished; they will be." The Party Chairperson Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had already directed the provincial chapter of the Party to file criminal case against all those responsible, the former Senator said.
The Party also urges the judiciary to take suo motu notice of the incident, order investigations and arrest and prosecution of those involved, he said, urging also the human rights bodies to raise their voice against state repression. The courage and sacrifice of Sarmad Mansoor was exemplary that will always be remembered, he said.
"The Party salutes the courage, steadfastness and sacrifice of Sarmad Mansoor and all valiant workers for their unwavering commitment to the cause of democracy, independence of judiciary and protecting human rights".
The refusal by Sarmad Mansoor to be cowed down by dictatorship and his ultimate sacrifice will continue to inspire Party workers and illumine the path of those struggling for democracy and rule of law in the country, he said.