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PAKISTAN
In
January, I led a congressional delegation on a visit to Pakistan,
Kashmir and India in order to meet with government officials and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and learn more about the
concerns facing these nations and local communities.
In Pakistan, we met with President Musharraf, Prime Minister
Jamali as well as the Governor and Chief Minister of Punjab.
In addition, we visited a medical clinic and the site of a
new hospital in the rural village of Kotli Nunan.
As you may know, our District worked with a Pakistani NGO to send a roving medical unit to meet the needs of the impoverished people in the surrounding area. Each year, this medical van treats over 150,000 people, most of whom have never had access to health care. While in the state of Punjab, we also met with a human rights organization, the Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement, that defends the rights of religious minorities and women and children. Their work is vital to protecting the rights of minorities.
Our
delegation also traveled to Azad-Kashmir and met with Kashmiri
government leaders as well as leaders of the camps for internally
displaced persons (IDPs). The
suffering of the Kashmiri people on both sides of the Line of
Control (LOC – the line that divides the territory controlled by
Pakistan and that controlled by India) is terrible.
Rape is often used as a weapon of terror, people have been
maimed by landmines and other artillery, and medical care for even
basic needs is lacking. Currently,
I am working with churches and schools in our District to collect
school supplies for the children in the IDP camps.
After a four day visit to Pakistan, we traveled to Bombay, Ahmedabad and New Delhi in India. While in Bombay, we visited the Red Light District and then a shelter for daughters of the prostitutes in Bombay. Many young women and girls, and some boys, are trafficked into the Red Light District and are forced into sex slavery. Others end up in Bombay through various circumstances. Often, when these women have children, the children are caught up in the chaos and suffering as well. The shelter home we visited provided a wonderful opportunity for the children of the prostitutes to experience the childhood that they had been denied. We visited a girls home in which 80 girls between the ages of 2 and 18 were provided safety, love, medical care, and education in order to help them develop skills so they could have a different life than their mothers. It was a joy to visit with these girls and see their smiles and the hope in their lives. It was truly a light shining in darkness.
We also visited Ahmedabad, the capital of the state of Gujarat. In March of 2002, there were terrible attacks by Hindu extremists against Muslims in the area. Many people were killed and huge numbers displaced. We visited a Muslim NGO and were privileged to join in a ceremony in which we handed over the keys to new homes to families who had been living in camps for two years. We also visited the burned out home of Mr. Ehsan Jaffrey, a well-respected former Member of Parliament, who had been burned to death in his home along with 40-50 women and children seeking shelter there from extremist mobs. In front of his home, women were raped and children were burned alive as attackers threw them on bonfires as the mobs rampaged through the streets. Sadly, there has been no real justice for many of the families affected by this violence.
The All India Christian Council hosted a briefing for us in which we heard from Christians, Tribal leaders, Dalits (the name for the “lowest” caste of people in India’s caste system), Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus regarding their work together to combat the widespread discrimination and violent attacks by Hindu extremists. Four states in India currently have laws on the books, which violate fundamental freedoms, most notably the freedom of religion. The unity between all these groups is powerful and has accomplished much in the effort to protect the rights of all people in India.
Our delegation also visited New Delhi and met with Indian government leaders in order to establish relationships with them to work together on addressing some of the human rights and other concerns our nations have.
Human Rights Reports
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003
International Religious Freedom Report 2003
Religious Prisoners
Ayub Masih RELEASED
Saleem and Rasheed Masih
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