Pakistan Under the Gun

Perspectives on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Public Forum, Film Screening and Discussion. TUES, DEC 11th, 2007 @ 6:30 pm. Alma Van Dusen Room, Vancouver Public Library. 350 West Georgia, Vancouver FREE EVENT. For more information, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 604.764.6257

Join us for a public forum and interactive discussion on
human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Pakistan.
Support the resistance of the Pakistani people!

Co-sponsored by:
Vancouver and District Labour Council
India Pakistan Peace Network (IPPN)
South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD)
Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada
Endorsed by the PSAC International Solidarity Committee
 
FILM SCREENING:
Showing for the first time in Vancouver, "MISSING IN PAKISTAN"
Newly released documentary from Pakistan. The Pakistani
government is repeatedly preventing students from showing
this film in the country.
 
 The declaration of a state of emergency and the subsequent
actions of the Musharraf regime have pushed Pakistan and
its people to the brink and have resulted in widespread
outrage and protests within the country and throughout
the world.

The resistance movement within Pakistan has been growing
stronger by the day, bolstered by international support
from human rights and civil rights organizations,
journalists, trade unions, lawyers' groups and many others.

Events in the country are unfolding at a rapid pace. President
Musharraf has scheduled elections for January and has said
that he will lift the state of emergency in the near future.

Yet there have been no commitments to restore the suspended
Supreme Court Justices (many of whom remain under strict
house arrest) or lift the bans on the media or free the
political prisoners who remain in detention. To fuel the
blaze, all justices who refused to take oath under the
unlawful PCO (Provisional Constitution Order) have been
given a forceful retirement.

The lifting of the state of emergency and scheduling of an
election for January will also not address many critical
issues facing Pakistan such as the continued oppression of
the many tribal people in the country, brutal conditions of
poverty faced by more than 1/3 of the population, repression
of trade union activities and the widespread and growing cases
of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial detentions of
hundreds of people in the name of national security and the
U.S led war on terror.

In this setting, what are the prospects for peace, democracy
and human rights in Pakistan? Is it possible to have a fair,
free and impartial election without the restoration of the
judiciary? What does democracy look like and how can it be
achieved given the historical and present day political
realities in the country? What role has the U.S played
in the history of Pakistan and the region? How does this
impact the current situation, particularly in relation to
the U.S led war on terror and the resulting assault on civil
liberties in Pakistan, the surrounding region and around the world?