By Parveen Chopra, IANS
New York : Dismissive of President Pervez Musharraf’s offer to end emergency and hold elections in two months, Pakistani Americans are pushing ahead with demonstrations protesting his repressive measures since Nov 3.
While several protests and rallies have been held in US cities including New York, Chicago and Dallas, many groups are jointly holding a demonstration at the White House in Washington Friday to condemn emergency rule and urge the US to withdraw support to Musharraf.
In New York, over 100 protestors demonstrated outside UN headquarters Thursday, urging the world body to use its influence to prevent the military regime in Islamabad from abusing human rights in the country.
The Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), Khyber Society (a social organisation), and some members of Benazir’s Pakistan Peoples Party participated in the protest.
“Musharraf’s talk of holding elections is pure baloney; his is an illegal regime which must go,” PML-N’s Khalid Lukman told IANS.
Pakistani American National Alliance, a coalition of many organisations, has accused Musharraf of “high treason” and organised protests in front of Pakistani missions in Chicago, Dallas and New York. They were planning one in Los Angeles too.
The rally in front of the White House in Washington Friday may be the biggest of recent anti-Musharraf protests. The organisers plan to urge the US authorities to immediately stop supporting the military regime in Islamabad and help the Pakistani people to restore democracy, reinstate rule of law and promote provincial autonomy in the country.
The rally has been organised by human rights advocacy groups, media, political parties and professionals, mostly of Sindh and Baloch origin.
These groups have also given a call for more Pakistani American and other international human rights and democratic groups to lobby the international community to withdraw support to the Musharraf government.