Statement from the Boston DSA Steering Committee
For at least the last four months members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) have led protests throughout Pakistan calling for an end to arbitrary detentions, an end to extra-judicial killings carried out by the police and army, and an end to the use of landmines in the Waziristan region of Northern Pakistan. These policies are carried about by the Pakistani state with the cooperation and support of the American government as part of its so-called ‘War on Terror’.
We, the Boston DSA Steering Committee, commend and applaud the bravery of the PTM as they attempt to peacefully confront American imperialism and the Pakistani military. As socialists, we condemn these violations of human rights and demand the American and Pakistani governments bring an end to all policies of arbitrary arrest and assassination in Waziristan and an end to the use of landmines.
We are specifically moved to write this statement over the arrest of seven Pakistani socialist activists who are members of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) over their support for the PTM and participation in in its peaceful protests. We demand their immediate release from custody. The seven arrestees are:
1) Karim Parhar, leader of PTM and RWF Quetta
2) Attaullah Afridi, organizer of PYA Karachi
3) Aftab Ashraf, central organizer of RWF
4) Umer Riaz, organizer of PYA Islamabad
5) Zain ul Abideen, central organizer of PYA
6) Gulbaz, organizer of RWF Kashmir
7) Bilawal Baloch, organizer of PYA Balochistan
The Boston DSA Steering committee asks all members of Boston DSA to contact the Pakistan Embassy via email (consularsection@embassyofpakistanusa.org), telephone ((+1) 202 243 6500), or online contact form (http://embassyofpakistanusa.org/contact-us/) to demand the immediate release of these seven activists and to express solidarity with all political prisoners of the Pakistani government.
Solidarity,
The Boston DSA Steering Committee
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43827660
https://socialistrevolution.org/pakistan-six-imt-comrades-arrested-by-the-army